Never Alone
by SilverFallen
Summary: Haunting memories return to Nikki, bringing a sense of daja vu with them. KakashixOC
1. Prolouge

My heart pounding away in my chest, I ran through the forest blindly, the rain mixing with my tears. I was out of breath, but too terrified to stop. There was nowhere to get out of the rain anyways. I was completely lost, just hopelessly lost. Running through the mud and trees, the distant shot of lightning reached my ear, and for a moment, my heart soared. Until I realized, the lightning was over head. Not what I was looking for. New tears flowed down my cheeks and my vision blurred.

So I tripped. I hadn't seen the fallen tree limb, so I got my foot caught. I fell flat on my face, and for a moment, didn't even try to get up. I wanted to give up. There was nowhere else to go. My family was dead... mostly... I don't know what happened to my father. After my mother and brother died, he went spiraling into depression, and just disappeared. Though I had never really grown to them, I felt like I was missing something. All I had left was my adopted family - my Uncle, Aunt and my cousins Shikamaru and Scott - and _him. _But at this point, I didn't think he would find me.

Pushing myself up onto my hands and knees, I turned to my right and saw a small hallowed-out log. With a sniffle, I crawled into the log on shaking limbs. I barely fit, and had to cramp in at an uncomfortable position, but at least I was protected from the rain. I wiped the mud away from my face, but let the tears continue to stream out, until I ran out.

Listening to the steady beat of the rain falling on the log, my eyes grew heavy and I immediately fell asleep, exhausted.

"Nikki! Nikki!"

My eyes flew open as the sound of some one calling my name rang in my ears. At first it was distant and barely audible over the pouring rain, but after awhile, the voice became very familiar. A voice that always brought me hope.

"Kakashi-sama?" I squeaked, pulling myself to the opening of the log. I peeked out and called his name again, but louder this time.

"There you are!" He sighed with relief, squatting down. He pulled his anbu mask off his face and smiled at me. "I've been looking all over for you." He said, placing the mask atop my head, blocking the rain away from my face.

Then he picked me up, like I was just a feather. "For a six year old, who woulda thought you could get into so much trouble." He teased as he carried me back into town. He said something else, but I couldn't remember what it was. My head resting against his chest, I was already falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 1

"Nikki!"

"Uhh... Yes Iruka-sensei?" I'd been caught spacing out again. And at a really bad time too.

"This is pointless bringing you along, if you're not even paying attention!" He fumed.

"Not like anybody else." I mumbled under my breath.

The academy students around us giggled, causing Iruka to fume even more. But he didn't say anything, he just turned and continued walking. It seemed only slightly strange to him that I decided to help out give the new academy students a tour, but I had nothing better to do. I didn't normally volunteer my time doing something like this. Normally I did missions, but I just didn't feel like going on one.

"Is Iruka-sensei your sensei too?" A little girl asked, tugging on my fishnet undershirt. She stared up at me with big, curious green eyes.

"A long time ago he was, but not anymore." I laughed.

"Duh, she's not an academy student." Another kid retorted, rolling his eyes in disgust.

"Oh be nice, it was just a simple question." I said with a smile. "Besides, my sensei isn't nearly as boring as he is." I added with a whisper, causing the students around me to chuckle. Luckily there was only a few, and Iruka was too absorbed in his tour to notice.

"So, who is your sensei?"

"That would be the world famous Hatake Kakashi." I said dramatically. "Also known as the copy cat ninja."

A smile spread across my face as they gasped and whispered. It was always fun making a big deal out of him being my sensei.

"Did that Uchiha boy have him as a sensei too?"

I faltered for a minute. How did they know about Sasuke? Surely they were too young to remember. I stared down at the ground for a minute before faking a smile and nodding.

"Wow! You were on his team!" A little boy cried out.

"Shh!" Another one hissed, covering the first one's mouth.

I laughed. "You think that's amazing? One of my good friends is his cousin!"

Awe spread across their faces and I chuckled. I was ready to tell them how superior Raidon was to the 'famous' Sasuke, but Iruka shushed me again.

"Nikki! Stop disturbing my tour!" He yelled, shooing me away. I waved at the academy students, disappointing to loose such a great audience. I needed a grand finale.

"Don't bore them to death Iruka-sensei! I'm not done with my history lesson."

Immediately they started giggling, and Iruka looked ready to strangle me. That was a good enough finale for me. I started jogging though, just incase Iruka decided to chase after me.

"Hey Nikki!"

Seemed like everybody was yelling at me today. Pulling me out of my fantasy world too... But this was a pleasant surprise. Three familiar faces, smiling back at me.

"You're back!" I laughed heading over there way. It was three of my closest friends, Raidon, Trisha and Lycan.

"Easiest mission ever." Lycan said with a grin.

"Well, it's nice to have you back." I said.

"Aww, she missed us." Trisha laughed.

"Oh, no, not all." I teased, bringing shock to their faces. "Now your boyfriends will shut up." They laughed.

"What were they up to?" Raidon asked.

"Well, let's see," I said, crossing my arms playfully. "Kiba was fidgety the whole time." Lycan sighed. "Naruto wouldn't shut up." I groaned. "'Where's Trisha? Is she back yet? She better be back soon! Believe it!'" I said, mocking his obnoxious voice.

"Oh stop being so mean! He's sweet!" Trisha said, smiling. Lycan was still blushing. Raidon, on the other hand was laughing.

"Oh, and don't get me started with Neji!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh great... What did he do?" Raidon asked, sighing.

"He was paranoid! Terrified even! 'They're not back yet! This is not their destiny. Something must be wrong!' Oh woe is me!" I said, mellow-dramatically.

"Oh, so basically combined, they sound like you when Kakashi is on a mission?" Raidon retorted.

My face flushed, and I looked down at the floor embarrassed. "Haha, very funny." I said. They had me pinned. Sadly it was true though. I couldn't help and be fidgeting, and paranoid. So, I really couldn't blame Kiba, Naruto and Neji for their reactions.

"So, what were you up to while we were gone?" Raidon asked, still smiling in triumph.

"Nothing really, just bored. Everyone was gone." I shrugged. "Except for Aiko and Gaara of course, but honestly, didn't want to disrupt, whatever they were doing." I said with a laugh. Those two were always up to something.

"Hey, I got an idea." I suddenly declared. "To celebrate your return, let's go have some fun."

"You make it sound like it's a big deal." Trisha laughed.

"It is!" I exclaimed, cocking my head to the side. "It's a big deal, because now I don't have to volunteer to do pointless stuff." _Like going on a boring tour with Iruka..._

"Alright, so what kinda fun are we going to have?" Raidon asked as the four of us started walking, in stride, through the vast city.

"Let's go eat!" Lycan said.

"Of course." Trisha and Raidon said, at nearly the same time. The three of us giggled, while Lycan pouted.

"Sure, why not. Not like there's much else to do here anyways." I shrugged as we headed over to our favorite restaurant. Naruto got us addicted to this place and their ramen. He was contagious. We joked that Trisha was eventually going to randomly yell 'Believe it' or start wearing some bright orange outfit. Not like I had a problem with that, but it was still pretty funny to tease her about it.

I was glad to have them back. It got really quiet and boring around here. Seems like everyone had left. Sasuke was gone, and probably never coming back, Kakashi was on a mission, they had been gone, Aiko was home, but it was weird, being that Gaara was here. We never knew when he would need to go back home. What would Aiko do then? Shikamaru and Scott never wanted to do anything, lazy butts. Oh, and then there was Naruto, Kiba and Neji. Naruto and I didn't get along too great, so his company wasn't very pleasant, I hardly knew Kiba... well, I did, but that was only because he always seemed to cling onto poor Lycan, and as for Neji, well, we got along, but that still didn't help to much. It just got boring here.

"So, when does Kakashi get back from his mission?

I blinked in surprise, and stopped, mid-slurp, ramen still hanging from my mouth. It took me a moment to recollect myself, and force the soup down my throat. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, too lazy to use my napkin before answering. "I'm really not sure. He's been gone for awhile. I'd think soon, but just the journey out there takes a while." I said, thinking about how far away he was. "He's all the way at the end of the Fire Country, sorta by the Wave Country. So, it's a pretty good travel. Ridiculous if you ask me. Why do you ask?"

Raidon shrugged. "Just, curious I guess."

And that was the end of talk of Kakashi. I made myself think he was alright, and I had to stop worrying about him. So I pushed the thought to the smallest crevice of my mind, relaxed, and had fun.


	3. Chapter 2

"Sasuke! Wait up!" I yelled, running by Naruto's side, as our teammate stretched ahead of us. He didn't even glance back at us. He was just leaving us in the dirt.

Annoyance and anger distorted Naruto's face, and I couldn't blame him. Sasuke was so far ahead of us, and he never even stopped to look back. Instead, he concentrated on something above, determined to catch up. When I looked up, I saw Kakashi jumping through the tree tops above us, only a little farther ahead then Sasuke was. But he stopped and checked on us, smiling and encouraging us to run faster.

That's just what Naruto did. Slowly, he started pulling in front of me, until he was speeding ahead of me, and catching up to Sasuke.

And I was left behind.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun!" I yelled, pulling myself to my limits as I ran. "Wait!" Now Sasuke and Naruto were running, right next to each other. I don't even think they heard me yelling at them, they were so absorbed in outrunning the other.

So I ran too. I'd prove to them that I could run just as fast as they could. Slowly, ever so slowly, they got closer and closer, but as I ran, I watched them change. It was strange, because it wasn't just a physical change; it was something that the plain eye could see. Almost as if I could see their personality changing. They both were getting taller, and they were both growing, to what seemed like the present. It hit me that I hadn't realized, when I was standing next to Naruto, it was the old Naruto. From two years ago. And that meant the old Sasuke too.

And suddenly, they both stopped running, and looked back at me.

Naruto has a smile on his face, and he seemed to be glowing. His forehead protector shone, and he looked like a hero. Like someone little kids would look up to. He wasn't the goofy little kid he was in the beginning. It made me realize how much he had grown since I first knew him.

Sasuke on the other hand, had a scowl on his face, and I could literally see the blood-lust in his dark eyes. He was just the presence of darkness now, covered in shadows, with such a grim look on his face. This was the Sasuke that wasn't just out for revenge on his brother, but out to destroy everything he had once loved. This was the Sasuke that had abandoned us, so long ago.

Then they both turned in unison, and ran off in different directions, off of the original path we were taking. All I could do was watch them both, my head spinning back and forth between the dark path Sasuke had taken, and the mysterious trail Naruto had disappeared on.

Kakashi however, was still there. He waited on the path with a smile, his hand out-stretched towards me. So I ran to him, and the two of us continued down the original path, leaving Naruto and Sasuke behind. We were just endlessly running, and as strange as it was to me, I didn't ask questions. It just seemed right.

It seemed like we had been running for ages, but we never tired, never grew hungry. We kept running, and changing too. I could feel myself growing as I ran. It was the strangest thing, yet I acted as if nothing was happening. What was going on?

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Naruto appeared in front of us, a huge grin on his face. He was back, and he was still glowing. Then we were like a team again, just missing a piece. Naruto ran a little distance in front of me, but not much. I could keep up with him now. Of course, I was still at the back, but the gap didn't seem so huge now.

Yet, I still didn't understand what was going on.

Staring down at my feet, I watched the ground below me get darker and darker, as if night were falling, but when I looked up, the sun was still high in the sky. An eerie, yet familiar, wave flooded over me, and eagerly I pumped my legs faster.

Ahead of us, a familiar shape loomed, almost as if it was waiting for us. As it slowly got closer and closer, the features started to take shape, and it flooded back to my memory.

He started at us blankly with his dark eyes, before turning away, completely engulfed in darkness.

"Sasuke!" I choked out, feeling a weight crush down on my body. But he never turned back, he just kept walking away. The further he walked, the more crushing weight I felt. My feet were planted to the ground, and it seemed like nothing was attacking, but I could feel something pulling away at me. Desperately, I glanced at Kakashi and Naruto, to see that they were struggling too. Something was pulling away at us, bringing us under.

My eyes flew upon, and I sat up in bed. I looked around wildly, and saw that I was just in my room. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were gone. Then again, Sasuke hadn't been here for a long time.

Hugging my knees, with my head buried, tear streamed down my face. It was all just a dream. Yet it felt so... real.

The next morning was brutal. I hadn't gotten much sleep after the dream. No, it wasn't a dream, more like a nightmare. And as much as I wanted to crawl back into bed, I had something I needed to do.

I scarfed down breakfast and changed out of my comfy pajamas, before heading out the door. Walking through the streets, I couldn't help and smile as the sun crept up in the sky. It wasn't extremely early, but I was one of the first in the streets. Normally, that would tick me off, just the thought of willingly getting up early, but it was different today.

As soon as I reached my destination, I hesitated at the door, all my courage melted away. I took a deep breath, knowing I had this made out in my mind; I wasn't going to back down now. I knocked my knuckles against the door, hoping he would hear it, then waited.

When the door finally opened, I smiled, and couldn't help but laugh at the surprised face on the other end.

"Sorry if I woke you, but..." I sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Can we go on a mission, Naruto?"


	4. Chapter 3

"Wait... You want to go on a mission with me?" Naruto asked, completely dumbfounded. I just nodded. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, and for a second, he sounded serious.

"Maybe, maybe not." I shrugged. "I was just thinking, it's been a long time since we've gone on a mission together." In fact, the last time we had gone a mission, had been before Sasuke left. And that had been almost three years ago now. We'd never been close friends, but we had definitely drifted after Sasuke abandoned us.

"Hmmm. I think you just miss your boyfriend." The blond teased, crossing his arms and smirking triumphantly. I could feel my face turn bright red.

"Oh please, I can't ask my team-mate to come on a mission me, just 'cause?" I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. Yep, things were back to normal.

"Alright, let's go on a mission, but first, I'm taking you to the hospital, you must be ill." He chuckled, finding himself historical. He laughed louder when I groaned behind him as he walked back into his house.

"Just wait a minute!" He called. No figure going to get clothes on. I had accidentally walked in on him is his silly little pajamas.

When he came out, he was dressed in his same old orange and black outfit, with a backpack on as well. Whether or not we decided to take a long mission or a short one, I had few to last us both a week. He probably had more. Though, we couldn't do a very exciting mission, being that he was still a Gennin. I on the other hand was a Chunnin, training to become a Jounin. Guess the best we could get would be a C rank mission. I'd die if he dragged me on a D rank.

As if reading my thoughts, Naruto looked over at me and said, "There's no way in hell I'm going on a D rank mission."

"No way you'd be able to drag me on such a useless mission." I retorted.

Walking into the Hokage's tower, I couldn't help and keep my ears open about the group of Shinobi sent to infiltrate a town infested with Sound ninjas. In the Leaf country too. How absurd.

"Nikki? Hello, Earth to Nikki!"

"Huh?" I mumbled, mind snapping back to reality as Naruto waved his hand in my face. "Oh, woops. My bad." I said, smiling sheepishly. He stared at me blankly, one eyebrow raised, before rolling his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me you little brat." I hissed.

"Then stop zoning out on me." He said, cocking his head to the side.

Wow, we hadn't even gotten our mission yet and we were ready to strangle each other. Of course, if I strangled him, Trisha would probably be waiting to get her hands around my neck. Guess that would just have to wait for later.

As we walked around, trying to decide on a good mission to take, Naruto started humming some random song. Breaking Benjamin possibly? Had he been listening to my iPod again?!

"What are you humming?" I asked.

"You Fight Me." Yep, he stole my iPod again... "Hope you don't mind, I got bored and heard it on your music player thing."

I rolled my eyes annoyed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Then again, I wanted to go on a mission again, I wasn't going to back down now.

"...yeah, did you hear about the village...?"

"You mean with our Shinobies there? Oh yeah."

I stopped, and shifted to hear what these random strangers were saying.

"I heard that they were wiped out in a matter of seconds." My heart sank.

"No, man! You got it all wrong. Only half of them were killed. The other half were taken hostage." Not much better, but that raised my hopes, only a little bit.

"Well, I hope you're right. It'd be a shame to lose a bunch like them."

"Yeah, and wasn't the Copy Cat Ninja in the group too?" Now I was stuck in a spell, listening intently. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew Naruto was shaking me by the shoulder, but I didn't even stop to think about that.

"I think so. Don't know what happened to him."

"Would be a shame..."

And that was all I could take. I pulled away from Naruto, and ran straight up to the Hokage's room, ready to scream at her, and ready to collapse onto the floor and cry.

"Nikki! Where are you going?" Somewhere behind me, Naruto yelled, but again he was in the back of my mind.

Throwing the door to the Hokage's room open, I briefly saw Shizune jump with alarm. Oopps. Oh well. Storming, I slammed my hands down on Tsunade desk, and yelled with all my might.

"Why didn't you tell us about the Shinobi you sent to that village being attacked by the sand?! Make us wait until we hear those damn rumors flying around about them all being dead! Did you really think we wouldn't notice them gone!"

Tsunade just sat at her desk, letting me blow off steam, as Shizune recollected herself, and Naruto came running in still dumbfounded.

Then with a sigh, she just looked me in the eye and said, "We're working on it."

"That's it?!" I hissed. "You're working on it? Is that all you have? Why not send somebody out there to rescue them? Or at least tell us, so don't get worried about people we care about!" She just frowned.

"Nikki..." She started calmly. "I know you are considered about them, one in particular," I gulped, embarrassed, trying to keep my cheeks from turning bright red. "but there isn't much we can do. I can't keep sending fleets of ninjas down, only to lead them to their doom. And I can't leave the village unprotected."

"Then send us."

Tsunade and I both blinked and turned to see Naruto standing confidently behind me.

"Nikki and I will go. That way you're not sending a whole fleet."

"Naruto, I can't send just you two. Especially when you're just a Gennin. I'm afraid I can't do that." She said, shaking her head.

"Then we'll go by yourself. I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do." I growled, turning to leave.

"Then by doing so, you disobey your leaders orders of staying here." I stopped, what was she up to? "Not only will you be disobeying my orders, you will be breaking the way of the ninja, and leaving the village."

I'd be breaking so many rules by doing this. So many rules that suddenly didn't matter to me. All that mattered, was making sure Kakashi was... alive. Then bringing him home, no matter what. Even if that mean brining back just a... body. I couldn't even thing about that!

"I order you, as a Chunin under my rule to stay in the village." She snapped, knowing I was struggling with that thought.

"Fine then. Guess I'll just have to give up that title won't I."

"Nikki! What are you--"

Untying the forehead protector from around my waist, I knew I was probably making a huge mistake. I was turning my back on the village. I was doing the same thing Sasuke had done a few years prior. But this was different. I had to find Kakashi.

"Can't order me around now." I said, dropping the headband on her desk. And just like that, I turned and walked out the door.

Slamming the door behind me, I could barely make out what Tsunade and Naruto were yelling about. They weren't yelling at me, they were yelling at each other. Naruto was yelling something about, 'just letting me walk out like that' while Tsunade yelled back, about, following me? I couldn't tell.

And I didn't want to know. So I broke out into a run, straight towards the giant double doors leading in and out of the village. I could hear Naruto running a few good feet behind me, but I had to ignore that.

And as I ran out the doors, only then did it hit me, that I was now a missing nin.


	5. Chapter 4

My heart pounded and my lungs screaming for air, I pushed myself forward, not waiting for Naruto, because I knew he would catch up. He always was faster then me.

I'd make a mistake, and I already knew it, but I had to go through with this. There was no way I would admit, out loud, that I knew this was wrong. It was the right thing to do. I had to convince myself that. Kakashi was in trouble, and it seemed that nobody cared. Except me. Who else was going to go get him?

In a matter of minutes, Naruto was pumping his arms, right beside me. He could easily pass me, but he didn't. "Nikki, stop! We need to talk!" He yelled between breathes.

"No!" I snapped, glaring at him.

Although he shot a glare right back, he stayed with me. Even following me, falling back, letting me lead. He never stopped running, even after I could hear his heavy breathing, though not nearly as bad as mine. I knew I would probably collapse before he would, but I kept pushing on, needing to get closer to my goal, my destination.

"You're going to kill us both!" Naruto hissed from behind me.

Sadly, I had to agree with him on this. So I stopped - without slowing down - and collapsed on the floor. I could hear the 'thud' when he collapsed onto the ground too. It was a long time before our panting turned into a steady, normal rate, and for awhile, I thought Naruto had fallen asleep.

"You're insane." He said, half-heartedly.

"And so are you. So now we're even."

I rolled over on my side and watched him for a moment. He was lying on his back, staring up at the stars. He didn't look like he had just run a marathon, like I did, but he looked like he was asleep with his eyes open.

For awhile, neither one of us said a thing. A million thoughts were racing through my mind, all jumbled together. I couldn't think straight, and it was frustrating. With a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair, a new habit of mine after so many Johnny Depp videos.

"Any regrets, missing nin?" Naruto laughed, turning his head to smile at me.

"Jeez, you make it sound so... dirty." I chuckled. I couldn't think of it that way. Okay, maybe I had left the village, but it wasn't like I was out to betray secrets or something. There definitely weren't ANBU members after me. It just felt like I had accidentally left my forehead protector at home.

"Dirty? No! You're a criminal, and I've come to take you back." Naruto snapped.

"You are the worst ANBU member I have **ever **seen." I growled.

We both chuckled, too exhausted to really argue, for once. Then, it was quiet again. Had Tsunade really sent him to get me? She probably wouldn't waste time with sending ANBU members, but I was surprised she would even send anybody. Maybe he had run off on his own. He definitely hadn't made the stupid mistake I had, because he still wore his headband proudly.

"What are you doing here anyways?" I asked, all the joking manner washed away. I was serious now, and so was he. His eyebrows lowered and made a crease; his serious face.

"Making sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Why do you even care?"

He hesitated and stared at me like I was crazy. Wasn't the first time today - was it still the same day? We'd been running so long, we might have been running for weeks, for all I knew - that he gave me that look. Maybe I was going crazy.

"What, I can't care about my team-mate for no apparent reason?"

I laughed, a very dry laugh. I was way too uptight, I need to relax, but right now I couldn't.

"Correction, I do have reason, but mainly I think you're losing it." He said, the humor previously in his voice, now sucked away completely. "What do you think you're doing?" He snapped.

"I need to at least make sure Kakashi-sensei is alive." I said, rolling onto my back and folding my arms across my chest. "And if Tsunada-sama thinks she can sit around and wait, then she's insane."

He heaved an exaggerated sigh, mostly to get on my nerves I bet, before snapping back at me. "And you think running away like that is gonna work? You're still mad at Sasuke for leaving us, yet you're doing the same thing. You're being a hypocrite!"

"For different reasons!" I yelled, sitting up and glaring at him. "Sasuke left because of his damn obsession to kill his brother! And he's never coming back! He doesn't care about anyone but himself! Even after he killed Itachi, he still decided that wasn't enough! I had to do this! I couldn't leave Kakashi out there! I need to know that he's at least alive! You know that no matter what I'd still come back to the village, so don't you ever, and I mean **ever **compare me to Sasuke in that way!"

Fists clenched by my sides, I couldn't help and yell at him, take all my anger out on him. All my anger about Sasuke leaving us. How could Naruto compare me to him? That just wasn't fair. Maybe it wasn't fair for me to yell at him like that, but it slipped out, and it was something I needed to say, badly. Even after two years, I was still mad at Sasuke for leaving. Not just mad, but still hurt.

I braced myself, expecting him to yell back at me, but instead he just looked me in the eyes calmly and asked, "Why do you pretend to hate him?"

"I don't pretend." I hissed through gritted teeth. What was he getting at?

"But you also don't hate him." I couldn't respond. "And don't try and lie, telling me you do hate him. If you did, you wouldn't care that he left. And you definitely wouldn't want him back."

He had cornered me. I didn't know what to say. He was right, and I didn't want to admit it. I turned my head away, and looked down at the ground while hugging my knees. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hate Sasuke. He'd grown to be a brother to me, so how could I not be disappointed that he had left us? My hope had been that maybe after he killed his brother and gotten the revenge he had wanted for so long, he'd come home. Yet, he hadn't. Apparently revenge wasn't enough. He wanted to fulfill what the Uchiha's had been trying to do. The reason Itachi had to kill them all. He just couldn't accept that maybe his brother had done was right.

I remember when Raidon explained to me, exactly why Sasuke hated Itachi, I couldn't blame Sasuke. That was, until she explained how much she loved her older cousin. She told me why he had to do, what he did. He had done the right thing, but he had been forced to take on the evil act. It made me almost feel sorry for him. Yet, how could I feel sorry for someone who I barely knew? Someone who had hurt many of my loved ones; Kakashi, Sasuke, Raidon, even Naruto.

One thing I knew for certain though, was almost everybody - except Trisha - in the village, wanted Sasuke back. Now though, we were unsure if we could take him, the way he was. He would never be his old self. That is, the old Sasuke that I knew. I never knew the young little Sasuke that Raidon did, but I still missed the old Sasuke, even with his crazed desire to kill Itachi. I didn't think I could want him back now; he was a criminal now.

I glanced over at Naruto, and saw him staring back at me, waiting for an answer. He knew he was right, and I was waiting for a smug little smirk on his face, but I never found it. He was thinking the same thing as I was.

"You're right." I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't hate Sasuke... I just... I don't want you to compare what I'm doing, to what he's doing. I already know he's never coming back, but," I hesitated, trying to find the right words to say as I stared down at the ground, hoping those words would come popping out at me. "I can't help and still be mad that he left us like that."

There, I did it. I said it. And I actually agreed with Naruto on something.

"I knew it!" Naruto said with a triumphant little smile. "And you actually admitted I was right on something!"

"You tell anybody about me agreeing with you, I swear I'll--"

"You'll what?" He interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. "Kill me?"

"I might just have to." I said, smirking back at him. Naruto sure did know how to ruin a moment, didn't he?


	6. Chapter 5

After our argument about Sasuke, Naruto and I fell asleep, almost immediately. I don't know what I had been thinking, running so insanely like that. Stupid asthma got in the way of being a ninja. At least Naruto was worn out too, that way I knew it wasn't just me.

Luckily, I had been able to get sleep that night. I was terrified I would have another nightmare like the one from the previous night. I guess I was just far too exhausted to even dream. I might have, but either way, when I woke up, I didn't remember dreaming. I didn't even remember how late it was when we had fallen asleep. When I woke up however, I was nearly blinded by the sun. It must have been noon. We almost slept through the whole day. Then again, we probably didn't fall asleep until really early in the morning.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I could hear Naruto complaining about it being too bright or something. His voice was barely audible.

"Naruto, get up and stop complaining." I yawned, looking over at him. He was covering his eyes with his arm, still complaining about the light. Didn't look very comfortable to me, but if he slept like that, well, good for him.

"Look who's talking." He hissed.

"Excuse me?!" I snapped, watching him rub his eyes a little to violently.

"You're the one who's always cranky in the morning, and you complain about everything." He said, glaring at me now.

"I do not!" I retorted, ready to smack him.

"Whatever. I'm hungry." He turned away and reached through his backpack for food.

"Well you can just stay hungry for all I care." I groaned to myself, also looking for breakfast. Pulling out a pear I sighed. "How did we ever do missions together before, without killing each other that is?"

Naruto laughed as he bit into an apple. Some breakfast we had. "Sasuke always stopped us from killing each other."

"Oh right." I chuckled, before taking a bite of the pear. Once I started thinking about it, I did realize Sasuke always stopped us from killing each other. Even if it meant both of us trying to kill him later.

"Yea, but you always got mad at him, especially when we were so close to strangling each other." Naruto chuckled.

"Didn't we almost strangle each other one time?" I asked, still laughing.

Naruto stopped to think about it, before laughing. "Yep." I laughed too.

"Jeez, how did he put up with us?" I wondered out loud, realizing that somehow we always seemed to kill each other, never giving Sasuke a break. Then again, Sasuke never needed to stop us, but for some reason, he always did. Maybe he just didn't want his teammates dead. Whatever the reason was, he always made sure we didn't kill each other. Although he did sometimes allow us to smack the other one senseless.

"Maybe we're the reason he left." Naruto laughed. "He got so sick of us."

"Woops. Our bad." I chuckled.

"But remember the one time he thought we actually killed each other?" Naruto laughed as he played with the remains of his apple.

"Wasn't that a prank we pulled on him?" I asked, licking up some pear juice from my lips.

Naruto nodded, bringing back the memory. During training we had 'attacked' each other, and made sure it was loud enough for Sasuke to hear. We even got a bunch of fake blood to put on ourselves, ripped up our clothes, and torn apart the area we were in. Then we both lied down on the floor, trying not to laugh, and waited for Sasuke to find us. I remember hearing how freaked out he was, yelling at us for attacking each other like that, then eventually yelling at us for being dead. Then we had scared him even more with shadow clones made to look like ghosts. Of course, that gave us away, but that's what we were intending. It was a really elaborate plan for us, and we were shocked we even freaked him out as well as we had.

"What was it with us and pulling pranks?" I chuckled.

"'Cause it's fun."

"True. But Sasuke always came up with the best pranks." I said.

"Yeah he did, but you two always pulled pranks on me." He said pouting.

"Well, Sasuke and I were just a great team like that. And you guys pulled plenty of pranks on me. But you liked pulling solo pranks on us."

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto said. "Like the time I got you two back and had the whole town thinking you were a couple."

"Ok, now that was immature!" I snapped, throwing my pear at him.

"Was not! I walked in on you two on top of each other!" He said, dodging my throw. "That was the worst prank ever! You guys are sick!"

"Hey, it was Sasuke's idea, and you should of seen your face, it was hysterical."

Sasuke and I had decided to have us all meet at his house before training. We both knew he would be late, so we decided that we would 'get bored' waiting for him to come. We had planned the whole thing out, even having Naruto come over. When Naruto walked into Sasuke's room, we had played out to look like we were having a heated kissing session. Of course, we never really kissed, but when Naruto walked in, it sure looked like we had. It was kind of embarrassing, but downright hysterical. I thought Naruto was going to die.

"What was I supposed to do? Join in!" Naruto snapped, obviously embarrassed by how easily he had been tricked. "I come in to find Sasuke shirtless, you're on top of him, and then you start screaming at me! It scared the crap outta me!"

"That was the point Naruto." I chuckled. "Though I have to say you're way at getting back at us was very immature. You come up with the weirdest pranks." I said.

To get back at us, Naruto told pretty much everyone in the village about the prank, but told them to pretend they thought it was real. So to us, it seemed like everyone though we were a couple. Shikamaru would make kissy noises every time Sasuke and I walked together; Kiba cheered us on, telling Sasuke 'nice score', pretty much every girl in town, especially Ino yelled at me, and even attacked me. It was insane. We couldn't get away from all the teasing. Even Kakashi got in on it. I thought I was going to die.

"But the best prank we ever pulled was on Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said. Well, it was more like he laughed it. I could barely tell what he was saying. Once I understood though, I laughed too. It was a simple prank that the three of us had thought of together, but it ended up being one of the best. I stole Kakashi's perverted books and kept them for a few weeks. Then one day at training, the three of us came walking in, all with disturbed looks on our faces and gave him his books back. Just that had freaked him out.

"You looked like you were ready to puke and Sasuke looked like he was gonna die." I laughed.

"You should of seen your face though! You looked like you would never go near a boy again." Naruto said.

We didn't actually read the books, but Kakashi sure did think we had. I thought he was going to go insane. I guess he was just glad we didn't have parents that would kill him for letting us read the books. Although he was terrified he had scared us for life. It wasn't until Naruto lost it and started laughing, did he realize we were messing with him.

"Alright, alright," I said between laughs, catching my breath. "We're wasting time. We should be going." I said, standing up and stretching my sore limbs. Although I could sit and laugh about the stupid pranks we pulled for hours, we really didn't have the time. We had more important things to do.

"Fine..." Naruto groaned, not ready to stop himself. Pulling his backpack on he said, "Yeah, let's go get Kakashi-sensei!"

I rolled my eyes but chuckled as we both jumped off, heading back into the mission.


	7. Chapter 6

About a week passed before I had another nightmare. We'd been traveling for a long time, and at this rate, it seemed like we would never reach the village. I was starting to get paranoid that we would be too late. Or that we already were too late. I didn't want to think about it, but the thought of finding Kakashi... gone... kept popping into my head, no matter how many times I shoved them into the smallest crevice in the back of my mind. I was going to loose it at this point.

That night, I'd cried myself to sleep, not able to get the images out of my head. But when I did eventually fall asleep, I wished I hadn't.

--

An enourmous weight pulled down at me while I clutched onto the edge of the cliff desperately. I was clinging on for dear life, even to the point of holding on with my fingernails grinding in the dirt. Below me, Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto were dangling, clinging onto me. In my free hand - the one not desperately holding onto the edge of the cliff - was one of their hand's. Who's it was, I couldn't tell. For some reason, I couldn't look down, even when I tried to look, my head wouldn't turn. Either way, I held onto whoever it was, not letting them let go. All three of them were connected to me, and if I let go, I'd be leading them all to their doom.

"Nikki!" Naruto yelled somewhere below me.

"I know Naruto!" I yelled back, but it was not really a yell. More like a cry. "I'm trying but you guys are heavy!"

"That's not what he wants Nikki." Sasuke's voice. How strange it sounded in my ears. I hadn't heard his voice in years, only the memories of his voice. It was so strange sounding, yet, so familiar.

"What else is their we can do?" I asked, trying to force my head down, but it refused to listen to me. I still couldn't tell who I was hanging onto. It was driving me crazy, because I couldn't tell. Not even listening to how distant the voices were was working. All though Naruto had shouted to me, his voice was very nearby, and so was Sasuke's.

"Let go."

My eyes widened at the optition. I wasn't even sure if I really heard it. I definetly couldn't tell who had said it.

"No!" I yelled, hoping that nobody had really said that. Hoping that I had only just imagined hearing it. Still, I needed to respond out loud, for my own mental sanity - if there was any left at this point.

"Do you really think we can get up? We're stuck!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up Naruto! I'm not letting go!" I yelled back.

As soon as I said that, the hand I was clinging onto loosened it's grip, trying to release itself. With a scream, I tightened my grip, not allowing whoever it was to let go. Although I was able to hold onto whoever this was, I was terrified the other two had already let go, and all I could do was wait to hear a splat - or maybe a splash.

"There's nothing else we can do." Now it was Kakashi's voice. The thought of letting go terrified me, because I didn't know what was below me, but the possiblity of leading them all to their death drove a knife through my heart. What was worse, was the fact that Kakashi was telling me to do this. If Naruto had said it, I would yell at him. If Sasuke had said it, well, I'd probably pretend I didn't hear him. But it was Kakashi. I was numb with shock.

"Please, just let go." He said, his voice sweet music in my ears. It was a voice that I couldn't disobey. Slowly, my finers that clawed at the cliff loosened, until they eventually let go.

Then we were falling freely. I felt the wind rushing through my hair, and the world pass me by. I still held the hand in mine, not wanting to let go, no matter who it was. All I could do was hold on, and wait for whatever was to come.

Time seemed to stand still as air rushed past. Okay, not stand still, but we seemed to be falling forever. The strangest thing was, the longer we fell, the calmer I got. I couldn't control it either. The air rushing by was numbing, and calming at the same time, even though when it ended, it wasn't going to be pleasant. Still, knowing this, I couldn't wrap my mind around being paranoid.

However, the second I hit water, my mind was jolted awake, as if I had been asleep the whole time I was falling. Strangely enough, although I hit water, an earth-shattering 'crack' roared in my ears as I drifted down. I felt like I was floating rather then drowning. Wait, was I really drowning? It didn't feel like it. I had expected my throat to burn for air, but it didn't. In one sense I knew I was surrounded in water, but at the same time, I thought I was still in air.

That was, until I opened my eyes and looked around. Now I wasn't sure if it was water or air, because what I saw, was nothing. It was pitch black. For a second, I thought it might be night time, but we weren't falling that long, and it was too warm to be night. Maybe I was blind. Whatever the reason, my heart started to race, and I started to panic. Whoever's hand I was holding earlier, was now gone, probably drifting down into the black water. We were going to die, and it was all my fault.

Then slowly, something creeped into my vision, disproving my blind theory. It was just a shapeless blob, slowly drifting in front of me. It changed though. Starting out as a blob, it turned into a thick, liquidy substance that kept expanding around me, until it was everywhere. Only until the color seeped into my mind did I realize what it was.

Blood.

My heart dropped.

Immediately, I thrashed around in the water, reaching, searching for my team. Desperately searching. By some bizzare, yet amazing, miracle, all three were beside me. Grabbing a hold of them, I kicked at the water, desperately searching for air. Truth be told, I didn't know which was up, but I had to try. All the while, I was hoping, praying, that they were all still alive. It was my fault. All my fault. Why'd I let go? We could of found a way up. Why'd I even listen?

When my head hit air, I was washed with relief, but only for a brief second. A split second, I was relieved, then the next, I'm on solid ground, away from water, but I'm still dripping wet. I was expecting to be relieved to get on to dry land, but instead I just dreaded it. Immediately, I wanted to jump back in the water, because my instinct told me they were all dead. But something didn't let me run back in, and that somethin made me check too see if they were really alive.

Closest to me, was Kakashi. I was ready to check for any sign of life, until I realized, something was off. I looked him over once, and realized what it was.

He was younger.

It wasn't that he just looked younger. No, he was definetly younger. Decked out in his old ANBU uniform, and baring his tattoo on the side of his arm, I trembled looking him over. This was the Kakashi, the sixteen-year old Kakashi, that I had first met. Strangely, I remembered seeing his like this, but I didn't actually remember meeting him. How could I? I was only two then. Maybe the younger him just looked familiar, because I remember him looking almost exatly like this when I was six - and he was twenty. Whatever the reason, he was definetly just a teenager.

Now, curiousity took over me, and I looked over the other way, towards Sasuke and Naruto.

Looking over Sasuke, I was surprised to see a face I barely knew. I knew it was Sasuke's, somehow, but he was definetly different too. He was older. I could only guess he was somewhere between eighteen and twenty, maybe? Older then Kakashi, definetly. His face was longer, and his expressions seemed to have softened. Maybe this Sasuke had finally found peace. He bore the same wrinkles under his eyes as Itachi had, so I cold only guess that was just something that ran in the family.

Glancing over Sasuke, I looked to Naruto, now completly bewildered. But when I saw my blond team mate, I saw that he hadn't changed. He was still fourteen. Why had he not changed?

As I stared at Naruto, utterly confussed, I nearly jumped when I saw the rise and fall of his chest. He was alive!

Immediately, I got up, and ran over to him, my mind racing. Laying my head on his chest, I could head his heart-beat. Strong, just like him. Relief washed over me. If Naruto was alive, then there was still hope for Sasuke and Kakashi.

Without a second thought, I had two shadow clones ready. One rested her head on Sasuke's chest, while the other kneeled down next to Kakashi. Holding my breath, I waited and listened, to find they still had heart beats too. They were still alive.

I hadn't made a mistake. They were still alive. Listening to them had been a good idea. How did they know they would survive the drop though? I didn't care how they knew though. They were alive, and that's all that mattered. I hadn't killed them.

Listening to their strong heart beats, I was ready to collapse. Ready to fall asleep, or maybe even just give up, completely. I was relieved their were alive, but I wasn't over joyed like I should be. I was too busy concentration on the sharp blow to my back that appeared out of nowhere. Maybe carrying the strain of carrying three men thrown water was getting to me. It seemed possible, but dragging them ashore didn't seem difficult then. It was as if they had been weightless. Then what was this throbbing sensation?

The throb spread throughout my body, and the blows kept coming. I felt like I was being attacked. Yet through it all, I hovered over the boys, terrified that if I moved even slightly, they would become victims of the invisible attack. Where was I being attacked from anyways? I couldn't turn my head to look, and instead I could just sit and wait. I felt like I was ready to die myself, but I wasn't going to let them die, at least, not before me if I could protect them.

Why was this happening anyways? Why couldn't I just wake up? This was just a dream, wasn't it? A very realistic dream. Horrifingly realistic. Maybe I wasn't dreaming. All the sights, and the sounds felt too real. Everything felt too real. Espicially the pain. Both in body and soul.

No, no, this couldn't be real. There was no way. It had to be a dream. Just a dream.

As if to disprove my thoughts, an invisble kunai seemed to go straight through my back. In one end, then out the other. My breath went with it; straight out. Now I really felt like I was going to die. My body trembled, before all the strenght was drained out of me.

Before the clones had a chance to disappear, I reached for Kakashi's ANBU mask and held it close to my body. Then the clone vanished, along with the mask.

At that point, I was too exhausted to move anymore, or even hold myself up. Falling over, I stared at my teammates, watching something I couldn't see. In one sense, I could see them being attacked; I could see it on their faces. But I also couldn't actually see the attack.

We'd lost. It was my fault too. I couldn't do anything, but just watch them die, and wonder who was going to go first. One of them, or me.

I was sure I was going to die first.

The scene before me changed. Instead of dying on the ground, I was standing, in water up to my ankles. Looking into the water, I couldn't recognize the face staring back up at me. Was it mine? It looked too old to be me. Maybe it wasn't. The girl, no, the women staring back at me, had to be about twenty. She had dark blue eyes, and dark brown hair too. She looked familiar, yet different.

"What are you looking at Baby-Doll?"

My eyes - and hers too - glanced up to the direction the voice was coming from. He was tall and reminded me of Uncle Shika. It was another familiar face, that at the same time wasn't familiar. But this face I knew. It floated in the back of my head constantly as a distant memory.

Then it clicked. I knew this man, the second I stared him in the eyes.

"Dad!" I yelled, running into his arms. "Oh I missed you so much!" I cried, burying my head in his chest.

"I'm sorry." He said, hugging me tightly. "I'm back now, and I won't ever leave you again." He said, trying to reassure me. Yet the tears still streamed down my face.

"What's wrong?"

"They're gone." I sobbed quietly, clutching him tighter. "They're gone..."

He seemed to ponder what I was saying for awhile, patting me head, and rubbing my back. "I think I know where they are. Come on, I want to show you something."

Pulling away from him slightly, I stared him in the eyes for a minute. Then, taking his hand, I followed him, keeping right by his side, never wanting him to disappear.

Walking across the water, I stared ahead, trying to make out what I saw. It looked like a bunch of people. A bunch of smiling people. They were all so happy. How could that be? As we got closer, the faces became more distinct, easier to recognize.

"You're friends are probably around here somewhere." He said with a smile. "And would you like to see your little brother? He's really grown. Well, then again, so have you." He said, still smiling as he looked me over. Suddenly, I realized that the women in the water was me.

Looking ahead, I saw a bunch of familiar faces; faces I hadn't seen, in a long time. The faces that stood out the most to me though, were my teammates. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi stood there, waiting, mingled in with my family and friends.

A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes flew wide open. Looking around depserately, I didn't see any faces. It was too dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust before wipping my head back and forth, searching for any sign of life. All those smiling faces, everybody I had seen, they had been dead.

My search stopped when my eyes rested on Naruto beside me. His back was too me, and he wasn't moving.

"Naruto?" My voice come out wrong; too high, and too quite.

He didn't move.

My heart skipped a beat, as I grabbed his shoulder, shaking it lightly. "N-Naruto? Naruto, get up." I said, terrified I hadn't been dreaming. It had been way too real.

"What? He groaned, turning and pushing my hand away. I saw him rub the sleep from his eyes, but by the time he looked up at me, my vision was blurred, and tears were rolling down my face.

"Oh! No, no! Don't cry! I'm sorry! I didn't--! Ah! Why are you crying? What happened?!" He was panicked.

Shaking my head, I wipped the tears away, embarresed to have even started crying. "It's nothing." I lied.

His brows lowered, and he stared at me, waiting for me to finish dabbing at my eyes. "No it's not. What happened?"

With a forced sigh, I hugged my knees close to my chest, and rested my head ontop. "I... I had a bad dream... That's all..."

He didn't believe me, and I could see it on his face. He didn't say anything, but I knew he was waiting for me to confess. "Alright, alright..." I said quitely. I took a deep breath then let the words spill out. "I thought you guys were dead. You, Sasuke and..." I couldn't say his name in that sentence, in fear that I'd start sobbing like a baby again. How embarresing, in front of Naruto.

"Uh... oh..." He said, his face falling as he realized what I meant. "It's all right. Don't worry, we'll get him out, promise."

"That's not what I'm worried about..." I mumbled.

"Don't worry." He said, giving me a weak smile.

I stared back at him before telling him to go back to sleep. "Sorry for waking you."

I thought he wasn't going to listen to me - like usual - but after awhile, he nodded, then lyed down and dozed off again. I watched him for awhile, before staring up at the stars, letting time slip away from me.


	8. Chapter 7

Watching the wolf-like Siberian Husky, Sakumo, Naruto and I followed cautiously. After awhile, Naruto and I had gotten paranoid we had passed the village, or gone the wrong way or something, so I had summoned Sakumo - a trick I learned from Kakashi along time ago - then set out again. By now, Sakumo had Kakashi's, and my own, scent memorized; I'd had him since I was eight. In fact, he had been a present from Kakashi. Makes sense, right? Even though I had been really young, I had heard about Kakashi's father before and somehow decided to name the Husky after Kakashi's father, Sakumo.

Naruto was growing impatient, futzing around, pacing back and forth, as we watched the poor dog struggle. "C'mon! Let's hurry up!" He said, looking ready to pull his hair out.

Sakumo just turned, and growled at Naruto, a reflecting my frustration with the hyperactive blond. However, if a dog bit his head off, it wouldn't nearly be as bad, as it would be if _I _were to bite Naruto's head off.

"I want to see you sniff him out fox-boy." I grumbled, crossing my arms.

He shot me back a glare, for a just a brief second. He only stopped because Sakumo growled again.

"Sorry, just please hurry up." I asked, patting his head. He sighed, in his very human-like way, before sticking his nose in the air, then jumping off.

"Yes!" Naruto said triumphantly, as if he had found the scent himself.

Then we were off again, running as fast as we could, without passing our 'leader'. We were both extremely anxious at this point. It was taking us way too long to find Kakashi. How long had it taken him to get to the village? He'd been gone for quite awhile, so I'm guessing about a week, maybe two. Crap, at this rate, we were taking longer. If this took us any longer, we would probably be too late.

If anybody delayed us, even just one second, I'd probably strangle them.

Maybe I had jinxed us with that violent and murderous thought, maybe not, but either way, only about an hour later, we were attacked. Just our luck, right?

It was kind of strange, and out of nowhere. Usually we picked up that we were being followed about a minute or so before we were attacked. Not this time. It just came out of nowhere. Another thing; it wasn't an attack where the enemy pounces out of nowhere and just tries to kill you on the spot. Nope, that wasn't it. We were dragged apart.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, kicking and squirming against the grip on my wrist, only to have the grip tightened. "Naruto, Sakumo, run!" I screamed out to them, not wanting them to get caught either.

They both seemed to growl back, a 'no'; too busy fighting to actually respond. Sakumo was biting at the man holding my grip, while Naruto was smashing a few skulls, and taking a few blows himself. He got two of the goons down, before being tackled by another two.

"Just run you idiot!" I yelled again, turning to take a punch at my enemy. He took the blow straight in the face, and fell over. Immediately, I ran to Naruto's side, taking down one of our attackers, while the other worked at dragging my team-mate away.

Naruto pulled from his grip, cursing away, and took a nasty swing at the attacker. I could practically hear the guy's bone crunch under Naruto's knuckles. A smirk spread across my face as I watched him take down our enemies; we were winning!

"Nikki! Behind--" Naruto started to yell, but before he could finish, three more shinobis came to attack him. Two for me though. One grabbed my hair and pulled a kunai out, while the other grabbed my shoulders, yanking them back.

"These damn leaf shinobis just don't give up do they?" The one hissed, with a rough voice. Couldn't tell who was threatening me, and who was just restraining me.

I opened my mouth to scream, but immediately felt the razor tip of his kunai brush against my skin. "Not a good idea, silly girl." He chuckled.

I could barely see Naruto now, as the enemy ninjas dragged him off into the forest. As for my Sakumo, they were carrying him around - a make-shift muzzle around his snout - as if he didn't weight a good ninety-pounds. Crap! Crap! CRAP! If something happened to them, this was my fault! All my fault! Why the hell did Naruto have to follow me?!

Knowing the consequences, I took a deep breath in, and screamed as loud as I could. As I had hoped, it scared the living day lights out of the one holding my shoulders. At least I had my hands now. Without the slightest hesitation, I dug my nails into my captor's arms, until I felt the skin break, and felt the warm liquid ooze down my fingers.

Immediately, he let go and started swearing at me insanely. Quite a mouth he had. The other guy had recovered... slightly. He looked deaf to his comrades cursing. I spun around to face them, to find one was a big burly guy, while the other was a lanky, scrubby guy. They looked like typical TV bad guys! Gang members even! They weren't ninjas!

"You've got to be kidding me!" I snapped, frustrated a bunch of low-lives like these had caught me. Clenching my fist by my side, I watched as the small lanky guy came at me, his mouth wide open, in a silent scream. When he was inches away, I pulled my fist up, and smashed it against his cheek. He staggered to the side, and I flexed my fingers, wishing I had decided to wear my big bulky ring. Oh well.

After kneeing the big burly guy in the stomach - which probably hurt me, more then it hurt him - I turned and ran, crying out for Naruto and Sakumo. I had a feeling I was going to be followed, eventually, by the two attackers behind me, but by now Naruto and Sakumo could be anywhere. Hopefully my wolf realized he could just vanish. As for fox boy, maybe Kyyubi decided to kick in.

"Hurry up! She's getting away!" Oh no. My heart dropped, hearing them behind me. How'd they get up so fast? I hardly even got a head start.

"Where'd that bitch go? Gonna give her a taste of her own damn medicine."

Pushing away low tree branches and jumping over roots, I now ran in any direction, hoping Naruto could fend for himself. I had my own problem to worry about first. My gaze flickered upwards towards a good size tree branch coming into view, and an idea clicked in my head. As soon as I was close, I kneeled, then sprang up, grabbing a hold of the tree branch. Quickly, I pulled myself up, then shrunk back towards the center of the tree, hiding from view. I held my breath until I was sure the sound of stomping feet was far enough. Then my breathing was insanely heavy. My lungs were on fire, screaming practically.

I wanted to lie over and die right then and there, but there was still Naruto to worry about. "Damnit." I hissed, jumping down from the tree, and tracing back my steps. Of course, that was a failed attempt since I had been running blindly. I was heading nowhere. For all I knew, Naruto could be long gone, and I could have run out of our area of land completely.

Taking the risk, I yelled out again. "Naruto! Where are you?" Maybe that was giving away where I was, but I couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Yelling like that's not such a good idea, little brat."

Crap. Why? Why me? Why'd they have to be around every corner.

I stopped running, and spun around, looking around for the men that were after me. I was panting like a dog, ready to drop dead, again. A sitting duck, that's what I was. Quack, quack, come get me, quack!

The scrawny little guy came out, his cheek already bruising, and his arm stained a deep red. I smirked at the mess I had made this guy. Which in turn, only made him angrier. He crashed his knuckles against my face, then into my stomach almost immediately after words.

Two things happened then. First, it took the breath completely out of me, just wiped it all awhile. That's a very bizarre feeling. Just being completely breathless, not able to take any air in. Aside from that, it sends a person into a state of shock almost. I fell backwards, and landed flat on my back, still breathless. The side of my face was throbbing immensely, and I could already feel a slight warm drip crawling down my face. Well, that was the second thing that happened. Just the first.

The second thing that happened, left me completely dumb founded. As if I wasn't in a bad enough position already.

As my breath slowly came back to me, I had been waiting for another blow to come, some rude remark, something, anything! But nothing ever came. Pulling myself up, I turned to see why it was taking so long.

Instead of finding the two attackers ready to pounce, I was bewildered to see them both on the floor, out cold. The lanky guy looked like he had been knocked out with no effort at all. The other guy however definitely put up a fight, but he was out too. What had happened?

I was in a daze. I didn't know if it was from the fight, or maybe if it was just shock. Desperately trying to blink it away, I looked around me again, scanning everything, until my eyes locked on a figure standing over me.

"Guess I found you at a good time." He said, no expression on his face. "You're welcome."

"I didn't need help." I hissed, sitting up right, wiping away blood that flowed freely from my forehead. I didn't panic at how much blood I was gushing - okay, gushing might be putting it too dramatically - because it was to the forehead. That always happened. I was more worried about the jerk in front of me.

He rolled his eyes. "You're so stubborn. I don't even get a thank you."

"Why would I thank you?!" I snapped, glaring at him.

"I just saved you, didn't I?"

"Right, so you can just kill me later along with the rest of the people you once cared about!" I yelled, pulling myself up to my feet. Then I lunged at him, ready to punch him right in the kisser. How dare he! How dare he try and think just this one little deed could ever make amends for everything he had done! I guess he'd have to learn the hard way.


	9. Chapter 8

My fist didn't make the contact I had hoped. Instead of crashing into his skull, he shifted his weight to one side, and dodged my attack like it was nothing. Just like that, and without a single hint of emotion on his blank face. How could he be so aloof?

With a sigh, he said, "I'm not going to fight you."

"Well I'm going to fight you!" I snapped, throwing another swing at him. This time, instead of dodging, he caught my hand, taking the impact lightly.

"How the hell do you think I can forgive you so easily? Just because you 'helped' me a few minutes ago? That doesn't mean anything Sasuke! I know what you're up to!" I snapped. "You're cold, and heartless, and don't give a damn about anything."

"That's not true." He hissed, his eyebrows pulling down on his face.

"Oh, really?!" I snapped, my voice thick with sarcasm. "Right! So that's why you left us behind! That's why you almost killed Naruto! Naruto, your best friend! We mean nothing to you! Do we?" I asked, glaring at him, straight in his coal eyes. "No, of course not. You killed your own brother. You're own flesh and blood. Why should your team mean anything."

"Itachi was a monster. He could not be left alive."

"He's your brother! Did you ever stop and ask yourself if maybe he had a reason for what he did? Raidon sure thinks so!" Just that slight mention of his cousin, set a spark. I could see it in his eyes. I'd gotten to him.

"What does she know?" He hissed, trying to cover it up.

"Enough to know Itachi did the right thing! The Uchiha's were going to destroy Konoha, apparently!" Wow, I was sticking up for a member of the Akatsuki I had never even met. Somebody I had hated from the very beginning, knowing how he had ruined Sasuke's life. Then when he came back to Konoha and hurt Kakashi, was when I was dead-set determined to hate Itachi. Yet, why was I standing up for him? Just because I knew Sasuke hated him? Or was it because I now knew why Itachi had done such a murderous act. Either way, it didn't matter to me.

"Oh, and I hear, that you plan to continue on with that mission." I snapped, my gaze flickering down for a brief second, taking in the black robe he was wearing. How things had changed. From the top-ranked rookie in Konoha, to an Akatsuki member. Could he really be the same little boy I had met almost two-years ago? The same little boy, I'd become so close to.

"How can you be so blind? Itachi was trying to prevent this. I think he was hoping you would continue to protect the people you cared about. That's why he encouraged you to get your revenge." I said, my voice going back in forth between anger, and hurt. Bad time for a different personality to be kicking in! "He disguised himself as being evil, because nobody would accept the fact that what he had done was right. You were supposed to defeat the Akatsuki and protect your new family," I turned away, biting my lower lip, trying to pull out all my anger again. Come back! Now wasn't the time to turn into the soft little girl!

"Not join them!" I finally yelled, finding all the rage and hurt I had sheltered for so long. So many years it had been growing inside, just waiting to explode. And now it found its way out.

With any angry cry, and still in his grip, I twisted my body slightly, to aim a kick straight in his face. Again, he just grabbed the attack, avoiding damage to his face.

He smirked, as he held me in the awkward position, my free foot barely touching the ground. It looked like I was stuck. It just, _looked _that way though. I still had a free arm and leg.

With a quick jump, I pulled my other leg up, tucked it close to my body, then thrust it upwards as hard as I could. It was an uncomfortable, and slightly painful position, but I had received the result I wanted. The sweet music of a breaking nose.

Immediately, my former teammate released his grip on me, and held his bleeding nose, cussing with all his breath. I fell backwards very ungracefully, but nobody was looking, so it didn't matter. Now my back was sore from the landing, my legs hurt from that very awkward position, and my head was throbbing and still bleeding from earlier. At least I didn't have a broken nose...

Leaning on my arm, I pulled my self up slightly to see how much damage I had done. Sasuke was doubled over, still holding his nose. It looked like he was trying to put it back into place, but without any luck. Of course, I could put it back in place, but it wasn't like I was going to.

Watching the blood drip through his fingers, I couldn't imagine how heartless someone had to be to kill their own brother. No matter what he had done, at least Sasuke had a brother. Someone who was your own flesh and blood. Surely there was a point in time where Sasuke and Itachi had gotten along. It had to be what Itachi had done, to ruin any kindness, any warmth they had ever felt for each other.

Trying to imagine a young, and happy Sasuke, an image flickered through my head. It was of a little boy, only three years old. He had short, spiky brown hair, and big blue eyes. And a little girl, of only six years.

_"Ha! I got yah!" The girl said, grabbing the little boy around his waist, and swinging him around. They giggled together, until they both fell over, with the little boy cradled against the girl, his older sister. He immediately jumped up and backed away, still giggling, as his older sister caught her brother._

_"No! I don't want to be it!" The little boy said, stomping his foot. "You're too easy to catch. You're it!" He yelled, running away again._

_"Hey! That's no fair!" The girl cried, chasing after him. She chased him around for awhile, before scooping him up. "Ha!" She said._

_"Hmph!" He grabbed her ponytail and yanked it while struggling against his sister's grip._

_"Ouch! That hurt!"_

_"Then let me go!"_

_"No!" She snapped, holding him tightly. "I'll only let you go if you give me a kiss."_

_The little boy's face fell, embarrassed that he had hurt her, and angered her. He was only playing. Quickly he gave her a kiss, then pulled away from her, despite the fact that she let go. She took his hand and started walking off, pulling him along with her._

_"Where we going?" He asked, staring up at her with his big eyes._

_"Home. Mommy and Daddy are probably waiting for us."_

_"Okay." He accepted the answer easily, believing everything his big sis told him._

_"You know..." Her voice came out in a teasing manner. "Being such a good kisser as you are, you're gonna have all the girls swarming all over you."_

_"No." He protested._

_"Why not?" Looking down at her little brother, she giggled, knowing he didn't like being teased about having a girlfriend._

_"'Cause I love you and mommy!" He said annoyed, as if it should be obvious._

_A giggle escaped her lips as she swung her hand by her side, nice and wide while still holding his tiny hand in her palm. "That's different silly! I love you and daddy, but one day I want to get married."_

_"Yuck!" He said, sticking his tongue out. "'Sides, you're gonna marry Ka... Ka-ka-shi." He said, struggling to pronounce the name._

_"It's not 'yuck'!" She said. "And maybe I will. Then he'll be your brother. But he's my best friend! You don't marry your best friend!"_

_"But he's a boy. And you're a girl." Confusion crossed his face. He was still too young to understand the concept of love beyond family, but then again, so was his sister._

_"So. Shikamaru's a boy, and I'm a girl. But I'm not going to marry him."_

_"Aren't we cousins with him though?"_

_She chuckled again. "Yea, but I'm saying just because he's a boy, I don't have to marry him."_

_"Oh..." The confusion across his face had only been slightly dimmed. He was still lost, not understanding what she was trying to say._

_For awhile, neither said a thing as they walked home, watching the sky turn purple, then red, then orange, then slowly get dark. He was still lost in thought though._

_"Nikki?" He asked, looking up at his big sister._

_"Hmm?"_

_"Mommy and daddy love each other, right?" He asked._

_"Of course! That's why they got married!" She said, patting him on the head._

_"Ohh..." He was silent again._

_The young Nikki smiled at her little brother, thinking about what he had said. She imagined herself in a long white dress, walking down the aisle, anxiously, with a handsome man waiting for her. The thought of kissing was still gross to her, but like every little girl, she was fascinated at the thought of being married. It was inescapable. _

_Then she giggled, as she thought about her little brother getting married. She never wanted him to get older. She loved him being so young, so sweet and so innocent._

I was thrust back to the real weird, when a stomping sound carried itself into my ears. It was the sound of bodies running, feet crushing leaves beneath them. My gaze flickered back and forth, searching for the oncoming noise. I prayed that it wasn't someone waiting to attack us. We were at a bit of a disadvantage at the moment.

I can't say I was relieved when I saw that it was Naruto, but I could say I was happy it wasn't an enemy. All though, I was relieved to see Sakumo run over to me. His face was filled with concern, as he licked at the wound on my forehead.

"What happened?" He asked, so only I could hear him.

"Nothing, I'm alright." I said, scratching him behind the ears, trying to reassure him.

"You're lying." Damn it! He knew me only too well.

"WHAT is _he_ doing here?!" Naruto yelled, interrupting our conversation. The dog and I both turned to stare at the former best friends. How things had changed.

"Bleeding." Sasuke hissed, pulling his hands away to examine his broken nose. By now, the bleeding had slowed, but it was definitely crooked. All I could do was smile. I did it! I broke Sasuke's nose! Man, wait until I tell Éclair!

Naruto took one look at Sasuke's nose, then looked over at me, and immediately got the picture. He busted up laughing. "Nice job!" He said, giving me a thumbs up. I just grinned back at him.

"Alright, you two happy now?" Sasuke hissed. In a way, we were, but in a way, we weren't. Confusing as it was, Naruto and I both seemed to understand, without having to mention it to the other.

"What's the real reason you're here?" Naruto demanded, his serious face set in again.

Sasuke hesitated, looking back and forth between Naruto and me. He finally stopped and stared me in the eyes for a long time. His coal black eyes seemed to be screaming something to me directly; sorry, maybe? There was an apologetic look across his face.

"Where's Kakashi?" He finally asked.

My heart dropped. "You did this?" I asked, grinding my teeth at him. "You did this!" I snapped, not knowing what else to say. "How could you do such a thing! You heartless ass-hole!" I yelled, running over to him.

"No! I didn't!" He said, trying to defend himself. Too late. I struck a blow to his cheek.

"Where is he?" I demanded, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him around. "Where the hell is he?!"

"Nikki! I didn't do it! I came looking for him myself." He said, grabbing my fist as I attempted to punch him again.

"How would you know he's missing?" Naruto snapped, taking the words right out of my mouth. Naruto was clearly pissed, but no where near as pissed off as I was. I would kill Sasuke with my own bear hands, if he hurt Kakashi in anyway!

"I heard that a group of Leaf ninjas were attacked, and I heard that Kakashi-sensei was one of them." Sasuke said.

"Liar!" I yelled. "The only reason you would ever pretend to care, is so you can kill us later! You don't really care about Kakashi, or any of us!" I said, ready to punch him again. I started to swing, aiming at his face again.

A low growl erupted behind me, and I felt a tug at the back of my shirt. Twisting at the waist, I turned my gaze to see Sakumo biting into my shirt, growling at me. What was going on?

"S-Sakumo?" I asked, suddenly terrified. It was deathly quite, except for his low growl.

He stared me down with his sky blue eyes, before letting go of my shirt. Still, he growled. Was he siding with the traitor? No, he was telling me something.

"C'mon boy, tell us what's wrong." Naruto coaxed, dumb-founded as well. Sasuke behind me hadn't made a noise. I was pretty sure he remembered my Husky, so I think this was a little shocking to him too. Sakumo had never growled at me before - not counting a playful growl. He was probably more protective of me then Kakashi was - and that was saying a lot.

"He's not lying." Sakumo finally said, letting the growl die.

"And how do you know that?" I snapped. "What does he care?" I asked, gesturing back at Sasuke with a wide sweeping motion of my arm. "Sakumo! He doesn't care! You know he abandoned us!"

He sighed, and bowed his head. He could only remember that too well. He was the only one who had ever seen the hurt, even long after, that I harbored about Sasuke leaving. Everyone else saw the anger. The first few days, everyone was hurt, and everyone showed it. I didn't. Not until I was alone in my bed, crying until my eyes were red and puffy. Sakumo would jump up onto my bed, and lay down beside me, letting me cry into his fur.

"I could hear it in his voice. He isn't lying." He finally said solemnly.

I tore my gaze away from my beloved pet, and stared up at Sasuke. I wanted to think he was lying. It only seemed logical to me. But... could he really be telling the truth? Could he really care about any of us? Maybe he did, just a little. Maybe there was something he was up to, that I didn't understand. Maybe he wasn't really heartless, and was only pulling an act like Itachi had.

I looked down to the floor, then looked up at Naruto. He seemed to trust Sakumo's opinion. He seemed ready to trust Sasuke too. But, was I ready? I had to be, if I wanted to save Kakashi. Even if I didn't like it this way.

"Alright..." I said, standing up. I held my hand out to him. "I'm sorry I attacked you like that. Could you forgive me, enough to help us?"

He stared at me for a minute, and I almost thought he would deny. But he took my hand, and nodded.


	10. Chapter 9

By that point, Naruto and I had decided not to murder each other, though we couldn't help and argue from time to time. It was the apocalypse! So, if Naruto and I were getting along, then obviously Sasuke and I should be getting along, right? Wrong. Not even close. Yea, I know, we had made a peace-offering sort of thing, but Naruto and I were no where near close to forgiving him. So much for the picture perfect team - of course, we were missing two very important people at the moment, but I figured this was the closest this team would ever get to being together again.

Of course, while on the matter of missing teammates, Sasuke had to bring that up. "Where's Éclair?" He asked, later on in the day, as I patted bandages to his nose.

"Why do you care?!" Naruto snapped, getting immediately defensive about his girlfriend.

"Just asking..." Sasuke said, slightly annoyed. I almost couldn't blame him. But, for now, I was siding with Naruto.

"Not here, obviously." I said with a sigh. He was about to interrupt, probably to mention how obvious that was. "I just wanted to go on a mission with Naruto. It's been a long time since we have. We just wound up, stuck in this mess." I said half-heartedly as I worked on being a temporary medical nin. I wasn't a medical nin, not even close, but sometimes, I felt like I got the short end of the stick, and got stuck playing nurse. Was I really that useless as an offensive ninja that I was not only stuck in the typical Nara position of keeping the enemy distracted, but also stuck as a medical nin?

I felt the slight jerk of his head under my hands, the start of a nod, but realizing what that meant for the placement of his nose, Sasuke stopped, and instead muttered a little "Okay."

"Almost had the whole team together again." Naruto said with a slight sigh, looking down at the floor.

"Not exactly... Even if Éclair was with us, we'd still be missing an important detail." I said, staring off into nowhere as I finished up with the broken nose - my beautiful work of art that I had to throw in the trash!

"We'll find him, we promise." Sakumo said from behind me. I had almost forgotten he was still here; he only spoke from time to time, being that he really did not like to speak in the human tongue.

"Of course..." I said, standing up slowly, then stretching sore limbs. "Oh, and Sasuke?" I asked, looking down at him.

My former teammate titled his head back and stared at me with questioning black eyes.

"Since when do you care about Éclair? Of course, except for your pervy, demented reasons." I teased, a slight grin on my face.

Immediately, Naruto started complaining very audibly, cursing and swearing, probably ready to knock somebody's head - I think Sasuke's in particular. It was pretty comical how protective he was of poor Éclair.

Now, the more entertaining reaction was Mr. Uchiha's down here. "What?!" He snapped, his face turning a bright red - almost as bright as his Sharingan. For some reason, he had a weird obsession with our younger teammate. I have no clue if it was just him being a typical, hormonally-driven teenage boy, or if Éclair just got to see the absolute worst they could squeeze out of this screwed up kid, but either way, something clicked in his itty-bitty brain when she came around. Of course, now with Naruto and Éclair dating - and man was it serious! I can't begin to tell you how weird it is to see my teammate and one of my best friends eating each other's faces off - Sasuke had some competition. I wonder what Raidon thought of his unusual behavior.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, very annoyed, and even slightly embarrassed. Score! I got the young Sasuke back.

"Oh nothing." I said innocently. "Was just wondering if you're still a pervert when you think of cute little Éclair." Hmm, I wonder if she would murder me if she ever found out about this.

"No! No! No!" Naruto screamed, his face completely red. His arms were flailing about around him, fingers clenched into tight fists. I think he was too angry to get anything out that made any bit of sense.

"I do not!" Sasuke snapped, jumping up onto his feet.

"Pervert! You stay away from her!" Naruto snapped, advancing towards Sasuke. Opps, looks like a fist fight was about to break out.

"Hey, hey! Guys, relax!" I said, laughing slightly. "'Sides, the perverted ness is only for Kakashi, Lycan, and ..." I almost said Jirayia, then realized I'd probably send Naruto spiraling into depression. Just the thought made me frown too. "And me."

"Yeah, and I don't think you can pull off Lycan or Nikki. So stop stealing Kakashi's job!" Naruto hissed.

"I'm not!" Sasuke hissed back, glaring at Naruto.

"Yeah, you better not, 'cause I sure as hell don't want **you **as my sensei!" The blond said, crossing his arms, and turning away.

Wow, Sasuke taking Kakashi's job. I nearly laughed out loud, until an ugly thought ran across my mind.

"**OH MY GOD!!"** I screamed, jumping back as far away from Sasuke as possible. "EWWW!!"

"What?!" Both boys asked, staring at me like I was crazy.

I was still screaming like there was a bug crawling on me or something. I thought I was going to puke.

"Nikki! What the hell is wrong?" Naruto asked, desperately looking around for something huge, hairy and slimy.

"You better not take Kakashi's place! You sure as hell better not!" I snapped, pointing a finger at Sasuke. "Ewww!" I screamed again, a shiver running down my spine.

That's when it hit them. Sasuke jumped backwards and almost did vomit. Naruto on the other hand, busted up laughing like it was the funniest thing he had ever thought of. That sick little asstard!

"Naruto, you shut the hell up before I kick you so hard there won't be any Naruto Jrs. or Mini Éclairs!" I snapped, not caring if Éclair would murder me later for damaging her boyfriend. Of course, my threat went in one ear and out the other as he continued to laugh.

"Eww!" He finally said, still laughing. "I do no want to see Sasuke sticking his tongue down your throat like Kakashi-sensei does!" Now the disgustingness of it was creeping in, but he still found it historical.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "Were you spying on us?!" I added, ready to tackle Naruto now. How did he know what Kakashi and I did alone?!

"No, no!" Naruto said, sticking his hands out in front of him to protect himself.

By now, Sasuke and I were both ready to beat him to a bloody pulp, even though the thought had crossed my mind first, Naruto had brought it up. We probably would have until Sasuke and I brushed arms. Then we both jumped backwards, trying to get as far away from each other as possible. Honestly, I wanted to break his nose again, but I was too freaked out to get near him. Damnit, where was Lycan when you needed her to kick Sasuke's ass?!

"Enough you guys!" Sakumo finally hissed. I really think he was enjoying it, but - like always - he had to keep us on task. Maybe sending teenagers out on missions wasn't always the best idea. I'd have to tell Tsunade-sama that later.

"Yes sir!" I said, ready to move on, and out of this conversation. That, and by now I thought for sure I was going to die from separation. Never before did I think I could ever miss somebody so much. Now I felt like I was only half-here. Kakashi had taken the other half with him.

As soon as the three of us had chilled-out from that 'episode' we set off again. I can't really explain how I felt. I wanted to run the rest of the way, without stopping, but only if I knew that he was still there waiting. The other half of me, told me he wasn't. Another inner conflict. The optimistic, outgoing, slightly psychotic side, said, 'Hell, he's still alive, not let's move faster damnit!', while the pessimistic, quiet, and shy side said, 'You kidding? We're way too slow. Why would they keep him that long? What's the point?'. At the moment, I wasn't listening to either side. I was more like a zombie, just following the pack, hoping, wishing, praying, that he was still there, still living on, waiting to kick his captor's ass.


	11. Chapter 10

Let me save you some misery of our pathetic team. You're probably sick of hearing about us being idiots, but then again, we are. So, I'll spare you the details of our lunch trauma. I'll warn you this though; never trust Naruto with food on a long mission. That was my mistake. I had reached into his back pack, pretty sure he was hiding food from us. Instead, I found what I thought was a hunk of meatloaf in a paper bag. Found it used to be a sandwich. Of course, that scared the living daylights out of me, so I chucked it at Naruto, who flung it at Sasuke, who threw it to the floor right in front of Sakumo, who started gagging from the smell. Naruto puked. Sasuke and I almost did.

As soon as we got over that, we plunged straight back into seriousness. As disgusting as it had been, it had given me a little chuckle afterwards - which I had needed, badly - so I was slightly disappointed. However, I was going to lose it if I didn't see Kakashi soon.

That same night - or was it really early in the morning at that point? - we finally reached the village Kakashi was in. It was a creepy, nearly abandoned village, with a few crude buildings left. Well, that's what the edge of town looked like. Once we reached the heart of it all, it was filled to the rim with a bunch of sleazy looking sound ninjas, just like the ones that had attacked us earlier. They were all very unorganized, running amuck in the village. I'd say half of them were drunk too. This shouldn't be too hard. How on earth did a group like this capture Kakashi?!

You know, maybe first impressions aren't always a good thing to go by. I'd find out later that I was dead wrong about them being crappy excuses for ninjas.

It wasn't very hard for us to sneak around to find the prison chamber he was being held in. It was so medieval looking. Kind of pathetic really, but hey, that wasn't the sound ninja's faults; that blame would go to the idiot who designed the prison.

Sneaking in was where it got difficult. Sakumo leading the way, followed by Sasuke - Sharingan searching wildly for any approaching enemy - Naruto right behind, and then me, in my position in back like usual - I wondered if Shikamaru is always in back too. I'd have to ask him that later. We crept through the prison without much trouble for a long time. To tell the truth, it was actually kind of boring. I was hoping it would be more difficult, for some adventure, and so I knew Kakashi hadn't been bested by a bunch of pathetic excuses.

Then of course, the problems started occurring when the hall spit in three different directions. Sasuke started searching around, to find that all the directions led straight to a huge group of guards, and Sakumo was now having trouble figuring out where Kakashi's scent was strongest.

"He's been down all three halls. Two of them recently." He said very quietly, almost to the point where I couldn't hear him.

"Crap." Naruto hissed. "How about we split up?" He suggested, looking back and forth between the three of us. For once, he had the best plan.

"Naruto and I will go down this path. Nikki, you and Sakumo can go down the other." Sasuke said. "If you don't find him in any of the cells, turn back, and head into the other direction to find us. We'll do the same. That way we narrow it down."

"Got it." I said, before running off with Sakumo in the lead, down the furthest right hall. It wasn't until then that I realized, Sasuke and Naruto would probably stood a better chance against a group of ninjas then I would alone. Well, it was too late to go back, and I managed, so not that big of deal.

"There's a group of shinobi's up ahead." Sakumo said with his nose high in the air as he sniffed around.

"How many? And how far?"

"About ten, and maybe a few meters away. Not very."

Right around the corner then if the were so close. Pulling my body up against the wall, I glanced out to see ten sound ninjas. Ten to two; didn't seem fair to me. I'd just have to fix that. Turning back to Sakumo, I put my finger to my lips, telling him to keep quite. He nodded apprehensively, probably assuming I was about to do something stupid and reckless. I'd prove him wrong.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu_" I whispered to myself, performing the hand seals as quickly as possible. My only dilemma was how incredibly dark the room was, so my shadow wasn't very big. This was going to be a stretch; literally! I watched my shadow creep across the ground desperately reaching for the nearest shadow. Come on, just a little closer, I urged, tip-toeing as close as I could without getting caught.

A smile spread across my face as I grabbed a hold of his shadow. Bingo! Now that the hard part was done, it was time to have some fun. I couldn't clearly see the face of the ninja I had possession of, but I guess that didn't matter. He was about a foot away from the next ninja to the right. From the way I was facing, if I stepped to the right, I'd reveal myself. Damnit. That wouldn't work. There was another guy to his left, but if I stepped that way, I wouldn't be able to see anymore. I guess I just had to try that. Staring down at his feet for a second, I did the math in my head, before taking a few steps to the left - seven to be exact. There was a slight tug at my shadow; I was really pushing the limits with this corner. Against the strain, I quickly shot out my fist, making contact with the air, but smiled hearing a bone crack not to far away. Then I let go of the shadow.

Creeping back to the corner, I looked around to see one shinobi out cold on the floor, and another staring wide-eyed at his fist. The other sleazy ninja around him had mixtures of anger and bewilderment on their faces. Not exactly the result I wanted, but I was getting there. Again, I grabbed hold of another shadow, and did the same, then knocked out another shinobi, this time with ease.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing asshole?"

That was what I was hoping for. Now all I had to do was sit back and relax as a riot broke out among them. I only had to knock out two! They'd do the rest! How had it been so easy?

Alright, maybe not entirely easy. One guy was left standing, but this was the fun part. Slowly I crept out from around the corner when he had his back facing me. Another quick Shadow Possession Jutsu and I'd be too Kakashi, but this one was going to be fun. I'd take my time.

"Congratulations. You have destroyed each other. How pathetic." I said, smirking as his body grew rigid.

"Who are you?" He cried. "My body? What's going on?!"

I sighed slightly annoyed. So many questions, and he didn't even wait for an answer. "It's simple really. You don't have control over your body anymore. I do. I'd tell you to look down at your shadow, but you can't, now can you?" I mocked, smirking.

"Now, you are going to answer my questions, and you're going to obedient, got it?"

"Why should I?" He snapped.

"Because if you don't, and if you lead me to a trap, you'll be the first one in that trap. I control you're body remember." Now this was fun. Why was it so much fun messing with people's heads? Oh well, didn't care.

"You're lying!"

"Am not." I said, raising my hand above my head. His did the same. He let out a gasp, and I was pretty sure he was convinced.

"Still don't believe me?" I asked. "Then tell me what to move, or how to move. I can make you nod, I can make you punch air. Hell, I'll make you do the can-can if I really wanted to, but sadly I don't know how to myself." I said with a shrug, watching as his shoulders rose then fell against his will. He was silent.

"Now, you're going to tell me where you have Hatake Kakashi imprisoned. Got it?" I demanded.

"He's in the room down the hall to the right. Fourth room down!"

"Good boy. Now, where would the keys be?" I asked.

"With the guard in front of his room." He said, his voice shaking.

"Hmm, that'll be a problem." I said quietly. I couldn't let the guards see me, but it wouldn't matter if they saw this guy, which they would first. "Now listen to me carefully, and this will be easy. You don't do as I say and I'll kill you in one second." I started to experiment now, showing him how serious I was. Slowly, the shadow crept up his body, forming fingers, reaching for his throat.

"I understand." He said desperately, sighing with relief as the fingers disappeared.

"Good boy. Just like a dog, don't you think Sakumo?" I laughed.

Sakumo growled behind me.

"More obedient then you." I hissed, rolling my eyes. "Back to you. I'm going to take you around to Hatake's cell. You are to tell the guards they have been relieved of their duty, and you are guarding him now. And you have to stay calm, I'll be moving your body, but you still move your lips. If you mess up, I will kill them with your hands, then kill you myself, understand?"

"Y-yes!" He said. With out waiting, I started to march, leading him - or was he leading me? - to Kakashi.

I nearly jumped when a hand fell down on my shoulder. My first reaction was to turn and see who it was, but then I realized my puppet would turn and see my face. That's what I was trying to avoid.

"He's not down the other hallway. It was just his jacket." Naruto said quietly, walking into my vision. Sasuke came up to, holding Kakashi's vest. My heart plunged, and my grip on the shinobi faltered for a brief second.

"I'm getting Kakashi now. Stay behind me." I said. My voice dropping to a whisper I added in, "Don't use any names, and I need the Sharingan. Tell me what's up ahead for him."

Sasuke nodded, his eyes turning red as he looked ahead at our puppet.

"Around the corner to the right. How many guards?" I asked.

"Just two. Both guarding one room. But that's all I can see. There's something blocking the inside of the cell."

"That's got to be him." Naruto said.

Without saying another word, I kept walking, watching the ninja in front of me, making sure my timing was right. When he got to the corner, I was still down the hall, turning would prove difficult. Good thing I had thought about this earlier. Shikamaru and I had realized there were a lot of problems with this jutsu, so we had started working our way around those obstacles. This was one of them. With another hand symbol - which he did as well - the connected shadows swayed, almost like a human would from seasickness, until it twisted, causing Nameless to turn to the right. While I walked forward, he did too, but now I was walking down one hall, he was down the other.

"Whoa! When'd you learn how to do that?" Naruto asked.

"We learned just as much as you did while you were gone." I said, meaning we as in Shikamaru and I. "Now keep your mouth shut."

"I'm coming to take over the guard shift."

I smirked. Nameless listened to me. What a good boy. Was a shame we'd have to get rid of him later.

"By yourself?"

"Yes. Boss said so. Just give me the key."

"I don't believe it."

"Fine, anger the boss. But you're the one who he'll get angry at."

So the boss was a male, and was feared by them. This was good to know.

"Uh... Alright. Here."

Taking a guess, I held out my hand, trying to time this perfectly. I risked a glance over at Sasuke who nodded. I closed my hand into a fist, then dropped my hand to my side. It wasn't too long before I could hear the footsteps of people walking away."

"Alright, now both of you go and get the key from him, and knock him out. But not until after I'm disconnected!" I said, making sure Naruto understand. "I'll give you the signal when."

"What's the signal?" Naruto asked.

"You'll know it when you hear it."

"How?"

"Because it'll be the only thing you'll hear me say you idiot!"

"Right..." Naruto said, flinching away.

"Come on you baka." Sasuke hissed, grabbing Naruto's wrist and running around the corner. After a few seconds, their footsteps slowed, and -somebody hadn't been listening! I'll kill him later! - a tug at my hair. "Ouch! Naruto you ass!" I yelled, releasing the grip of the shadow. Then I was off running around the corner with Sakumo at my heels.

"Woops... sorry..." Naruto said sheepishly, standing over the unconscious form.

"Couldn't wait long enough to beat him up, could you?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head. "Whatever, just give me the damn key." I hissed.

Sasuke held the key out to me with one hand, Kakashi's vest under his other arm.

I took the key without hesitating at all, and forced it in the lock before turning it maybe just a little too roughly. Okay, I was anxious to get Kakashi then get the hell out of here. Oh well, the key and the lock had it coming for them.

When the door finally opened, my heart fell to my feet - at least, what was left of it.

"He's not here..." I said, my voice cracking. He wasn't. Only his headband. They had set up a simple trap, and we'd fallen for it.


	12. Chapter 11

"Damnit! How could we be so stupid?" Naruto hissed, kicking the door, causing a loud, metallic sound to echo throughout the false prison.

"Shh! Someone's going to here us!" Sasuke hissed, shooting a coal-black glare at Naruto, who was still making a fuss.

While they argued and complained about our failure, I kept turning Kakashi's forehead protector over and over in my hand, examining it as if it would give me answers to our problem. I stopped and stared down at my reflection in the metal, interrupted by the Leaf symbol. My gaze then flickered to the off-green vest that Sasuke still held in his arms. Suddenly, something took over me, and I pulled it away from him, then held it closely to me, knowing this was the closest thing to being near my dear friend that I had been in a very long time. Too long, actually.

"Nikki?" Sasuke's smooth voice rung in my ears. I'd been caught. Heaving a huge sigh - as big as my faulty lungs would allow - I turned to look at him. I made eye contact for one brief second, before a spark flicked in my head. Funny, Sasuke gave me an idea.

"I've got an idea on how to get Kakashi, and how to rid this village of its invaders." I said with a smirk, tying the headband around my forehead proudly.

"Oh, I don't like the sound this..." Sakumo groaned.

I watched Sasuke, Naruto and Sakumo walk into the very busy bar, both boys disguised as the guards we had taken out. They looked like they would blend in, except for the fact that they were fourteen, heading into a bar - and to do what, exactly? Oh well, I was probably eleven the first time I had snuck some alcohol from Kakashi.

Counting to about two hundred in my head, I waited and watched the stars, making sure it didn't look like I had followed the duo - or is it trio? - into the bar. Honestly, I was amazed how in another situation - or another personality for that matter - I would have probably just waited until I got anxious, too lazy to actually time it out. But not now. Now, I actually timed it out, before barging right into the bar, with a very loud, entrance. Just as I had planned.

"Alright, which one of you is in charge here?" I yelled out, glaring each and every grubby man in the eye.

"And who the hell are you to come barging right in, Leaf brat?" Somebody spat back at me, but I didn't see who.

"Doesn't matter. But I will tell you this; I'm a Jounin of the Leaf village. You guys have pushed it too far, and I'm looking for your leader." Nice, right? Just wait, they'll see I wasn't even close to being nice to these assholes.

"And what are you going to do if we don't?"

"This." I said as I pulled out a kunai, with the special little piece of paper attached. I smirked, and tossed the weapon at the bar, and laughed as it exploded, sending glass and gray smoke everywhere. Crazy? Me? Possibly. Hey, who wouldn't be at this point?

That's when they knew I was dead serious. "Now you better cough up the damn info, 'cause I have plenty more where that came from, and I sure as hell won't be as nice next time." I hissed, pulling three more out. Immediately, the men closest to me shrunk back in alarm. No more joking around from me. I was dead serious, and by dead, I mean ready to kill. The darkest depths of my being had finally been released after weeks of this mental torture raging inside, threatening to rip me apart.

"We ain't gonna rat out to a bitch like you." A large man hissed as he approached, his footsteps loud and booming throw the cramped bar.

"Wasn't expecting to get an answer without a fight." I said, tossing the kunai at his feet. He jumped back right as the explosion set off, and the smoke billowed out and engulfed the room.

"Get her!"

"Where the hell is that bitch?"

Then, of course, came the attack I was expecting; hands around my wrist, pulling at my hair, kunai to neck, etc. etc. I was insanely outnumbered, and way in over my head, so I wasn't surprised. In fact, I was delighted, over-joyed, ecstatic even, but I couldn't show it. So instead, I swallowed that feeling, and quickly switched it with another; anger, defeat, embarrassment even.

"Did you really expect to beat us little girl?" A voice hissed in my ear, sending chills down my spine. I'm guessing this was the leader. Don't know why, but he struck me that way. I guess really it didn't matter though; it wasn't my job to find the leader.

"I've had enough of the bullshit from you leaf shinobis. You guys think you're so tough, don't you? We'll see how tough you really are." He said as he held my wrists together with a grip that threatened to break my wrists; the blood flow was already gone anyways. As he pushed me out of the bar, I chanced to look over at Sasuke and Naruto, who were staring right back at me. _I'll be fine._ I mouthed, before tuning my head forward again.

He led me straight to the real jail, without even bothering to blindfold me or anything. They were smart and dumb at the same time. Anyways, as he shoved me along the path, I took the time to study every landmark, every nook and cranny, plotting it out in my head. This was going to be a cinch!

As he unlocked the prison door, I got a slight glimpse of the large room. Then he threw me in, and slammed the door shut, and it was dark. I landed with a thud, and an 'oof' escaped my lips as I pushed myself up on hands and knees. "Ass..." I muttered, glaring back at the door.

"Nikki?" A surprised voice asked from not too very far away. My eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet, but I didn't need them. I knew who it was. Within seconds, he had scooped me up in his arms, and I held him tightly, terrified that if I let go, he would disappear again.

"I missed you so much..." I said, my voice cracking as I felt the hot tears burn at my eyes. Instead of holding them back, I let them roll, as I buried my head in his chest, needing to feel him there with me after the long absence.

"Shhh, don't cry Baby-doll. I'll never leave you again." Baby-doll... That was his nickname for me that he stole from my dad. Funny, I could never imagine anybody else calling me that besides Kakashi. Oh, what does it matter? I guess I am going crazy.

"You better not, or you're in big trouble." I joked, getting a chuckle out of him too. We pulled away, but he took my hand and pulled me through the darkness to a corner all for ourselves. He sat down, I sat on his lap. He held my hand, I held his tighter. We were a couple again - not like we had ever stopped, but hey, a few weeks away from your loved one, and it felt like you had broken up or something! Honestly, I wanted to say screw the plans, I'm just going to sit here with him until we finally decided we are all caught up on everything we missed - not just what one did without the other, but what we missed doing together - until I decided in a prison cell with a bunch of other people probably wasn't the best idea.

Still, not a single thought of the plan passed through my head that night. It was more like, Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi, going through my head. And I could care less about everything else when I finally pulled down the mask, and plunged into a world that hadn't been explored for awhile. I don't even think he realized I wore his headband and vest the whole night.


	13. Chapter 12

It went like this; we talked until late hours of the night when we were finally told to shut up. Then we started whispering, having not gotten caught up yet - hey, about a month or two to get caught up on! We needed time! So then we started whispering until even later into the night. Then of course, as soon as everyone was sleep, that's when we started making out. It's probably due to the fact that we were secretly dating for nearly a year that we don't like being a couple in public. In fact, only recently had Aiko convinced us it was okay to be a couple in public, only recently we started walking around the village holding hands. Of course, Raidon, Aiko, Trisha and Lycan knew better then the rest of the village. But still, we refused to kiss in public. Now, in private, let's just say we could have been in Jiraya's books... Almost.

Either way, that night, I fell asleep with my head on his chest, basically sitting in his lap. I never wanted to leave that position, and for once I wanted to wake up from the dream - of us together - to be back in reality. A dream could never substitute for the real thing, but sometimes it was the closest you would ever get. We probably fell asleep some time around two, maybe three, because I remember barely falling asleep, just to be awakened again for breakfast. We weren't hungry, the food looked disgusting, and we both had only had about three hours of sleep. We skipped and went straight back to sleep. I regretted it later. By the time the lunch came around, I could have eaten a horse. Okay, never mind, that's gross, but you know what I mean.

So after my half-day of laziness, I had to get straight back to work. I was afraid it would be a drag, but I was so energized and motivated, and just ready to get the hell out of here and get home, I grew bored and anxious after waiting for only thirty minutes. That was typical - half of the time - with me. But only because I'd forgotten to bring a book; but really, what did I need a book for on a mission? I never pictured being stuck in a prison cell. Then again, I shouldn't be complaining, I did have Kakashi with me, but I wasn't allowed to float off and forget my mission.

So to keep myself preoccupied I started singing absent-mindedly. Everyone does it; you just start singing without realizing your singing. And of course, it was a song that somehow related to the circumstances we were stuck in. It was an old Beatles song that I only knew the words to because of the American singer David Cook - man; I loved all the American music! Rae added to that obsession too.

"_Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name._

_Nobody came._

_Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave._

_No one was saved._

_All the lonely people._

_Where do they all come from?"_

To my embarrassment, I had attracted the attention of many of the other ninja-captives. I only realized it when one jokingly said, "Konoha", in answer to my rhetorical question. A small chuckle erupted from the room, and I had to agree. At least the tension of being stuck in here was gone. All us lonely people weren't quite so lonely anymore. However, I was too embarrassed to sing again.

Noticing this, Kakashi leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Don't be embarrassed, you have a pretty voice. Besides, I think it's cheering everyone up." I nodded, agreeing that everyone was in a better mood, but reluctant to sing again. Why was so I so self-conscious? I guess I just needed one of my crazy, hyper-active friends to get me going.

Just then my stomach growled - note to self, never skip breakfast again- and another David Cook song popped in my head.

_"Strut on a line, its discord and rhyme._

_I howl and I whine I'm after you._

_Mouth is alive all running inside_

_And I'm hungry like the wolf."_

Again, we started chuckling, my stomach agreeing with my words. That, and I couldn't help and realize it was probably Lycan's theme song; wolves and hunger, fit her perfectly! I chuckled to myself, knowing I'd have to mention it later. That's when it hit me, and hard. I was really homesick. Not to mention, I missed my sisters.

Okay, now I wasn't sure what to sing; more like what was appropriate to sing here. So instead, I just sang what was stuck in my head, while still waiting for the perfect moment.

_"They said all teenagers scare_

_The living shit out of me._

_They could care less, as long as someone'll bleed"_

That's when I heard it. The tap-tap of boots down the hallway. A smirk spread across my face as I stood up and stretched, still singing, just more enthusiastically now. We were gonna get out finally!

_"So darken your clothes_

_Or strike a violent pose."_

Without telling anyone my plan, I walked over, grabbed some random guy by his shirt, then hurled him to the other side of the room, listening to the loud 'oof' and then of course, the swearing that followed, loud enough for people to hear miles away.

"_Maybe they'll leave you alone_

_But not me."_

I continued singing, despite the chaos breaking loose, and not to mention Kakashi staring at me like I had lost it. Maybe I had, but then again, maybe I hadn't.

"What the hell was that for bitch!?"

The yelling continued, but I didn't heed any of it. Instead, I listened to the footsteps, now running.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" A husky voice snapped, approaching the door.

In a split second, I attached my shadow to the guard's, having been ready and waiting. I could feel the shadow of keys in my hand, and I was ready to laugh with triumph. Not yet, later! So instead, I focused on sticking the key in the lock, turning, and opening the door.

"What are you doing man? You're gonna let them out!"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to use your little friend." I said, releasing his shadow, then slamming my foot across his face. "But this, my little puppet, is called a prison-break." One guard unconscious, the other stupefied, man this was way too easy! Without giving him a chance to run off, I kneed him in the stomach, then smacked him in the back of his head. He was out cold in a second.

All I could do was turn back and grin at the other ex-prisoners. "You guys gonna let flies nest," I asked, noticing some with their mouths ajar. "Or are we gonna get the hell outta here?" Immediately, a roar rose amongst them, and they stormed out of the prison with a loud wave of battle cries, leaving Kakashi and I alone.

"Remind me to never get in an argument with you." Kakashi teased, laughter sparkling in his visible eye.

I just laughed. "C'mon, let's go find Naruto and Sasuke. They probably need help." I took his hand, then ran out of the cell, racing around the corners that I had memorized.

"Where are they again?" Kakashi asked, checking around the corners with his Sharingan eye.

"Trying to find out who the leader of this rat-hole is." I said, not even pausing to talk or look back at him. How long could it take them? Surely figuring out who the leader was would be the hardest part. Knowing those two, taking out the leader would be a piece of cake. Especially if he or she was like the rest of the ninja here, then they'd barely have to lift a finger! Oh no, please don't tell me something was going wrong! As if this mission hadn't already sucked enough!

"Summon Pakkun. Sakumo is with them." I said, as we exited the prison. My head wiped back and forth, looking for the bar. No, they wouldn't be at the bar? Would they? And surely we couldn't go in the bar, we'd be too easily recognized.

Pakkun appeared in a poof of smoke, then looked up at us. "Hey Kakashi. Nikki." I rolled my eyes. I liked big dogs, he was small, and thus he held a grudge on me. Maybe not my best idea summoning him...

"We need you to find Naruto, Sasuke and Sakumo." I said.

"Whoa, Sasuke's back?" He asked.

"Long story." Kakashi said.

"Could you just find them, please?"

"Yeah yeah." The dog said, before sticking his nose up in the air and sniffing around. He jumped off, without warning, and we scrambled to follow him.

"Thanks for telling us you found them." I hissed sarcastically - a really bad habit of mine. He didn't say anything, just growled. By now he was used to my sarcasm, but it still ticked him off. Then again, it even ticked Kakashi off at times. Oh well.

"In there, but I'm not going in!" Pakkun said, pointing his nose in the direction of a creepy old looking building. He whimpered and took a step back away from the building. "I don't like the chakra coming from in there."

"That's Naruto and Sasuke I bet." I said with a sigh, not really blaming Pakkun. Those two got scary when the got serious! What with Naruto's demon fox, and Sasuke's curse mark, those two changed completely when they got serious in battle.

"Alright, guess we better go help them." I said with a laugh. "Geez, do we always need to save each other?"

"I think so." Kakashi said with a laugh.


	14. Chapter 13

We ran into the building with hardly a single word. It wasn't an awkward silence - no, never with us! - but more of a silence where neither knew what exactly to say, or had something else on their mind. In this case, both of us were trying to figure out what Naruto and Sasuke were doing. Knowing them though, I was terrified to think what they were up to. So instead, I distracted myself in other ways; memorizing the building's turns and halls, so I would know where to go if needed, reading the different signs on the doors in hopes of finding something interesting or of some value. I made the assumption that this was some sort of government building, like our own Hokage tower, but only scaled down, and not nearly as busy.

"Okay, this is impossible! Where the hell are they?" I hissed as I slammed a door open, scanned the room, then slammed it closed, being that it was empty. We'd been searching the building for a decent amount of time now and still found nothing. Not even the ohh-so-helpful - sarcasm - could pick up anything. Then again, we had only scanned a small portion of the building.

Kakashi was too busy searching to answer, that and I think he knew I was ranting again. How did he put up with my constant complaining, I wonder? Then of course, I'll save you the details of a thought that passed through my head as I marveled at his amazing ability to tolerate my complaining, which then led to me thinking about how amazing he was. Anyways, details that really should be left unsaid.

"How about we split up?" I suggested in a quiet voice. Although I knew it was best, the other side of me - jeez, does she _ever _shut up?! - yelled, infuriated to be separated again. My heart ached to stay with him, but I knew I had to worry about the mission first, boyfriend later.

He looked up at me, with both eyes, and I saw the same thoughts too. He didn't want to, but he knew we had to. He sighed, placed his hand on my head and said, "Alright, just stay safe, or I'll have to torture anybody who lays a hand on you."

"Excluding Sasuke and Naruto I hope." I said with a grin. "On second thought, you can include them." I chuckled, before stretching on my toes to give him a peck on the cheek. Then I turned and ran further into the building, wanting to hurry up and find the stupid boys.

Luckily, obnoxious Naruto wasn't as hard to find I was expecting. He was searching through some papers, though hardly glancing at them, with his lips turned down into a frown, and his eyebrows pushed down hard against his eyes; not in anger, but more of frustration or concentration.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, causing him to jump.

"That was fast." He commented, casting his gaze back to the papers. I don't think I'd ever seen him so serious.

"Took us long enough to get out of that friggin cell." I rolled my eyes, then walked up behind him and peeked over his shoulder. Every document he rushed through looked important, but crude at the same time. Some looked like plans, some maps, others just important leader stuff. "What's all this?" I asked.

"A bunch of Sound nin documents. Apparently all these sound ninjas work under their own leadership and don't follow their Kage's commands. Yet they still wear their headband proudly." He said, shooting me a glance before putting all the papers in a file. "This is all junk." He growled.

"Why does it matter?"

"We're going to burn this building and everything in it."

I froze. Burn, everything? "Naruto, y-you can't do that!" I said, eye wide.

"What else can we do? They're dangerous." He said, pulling away from the table. I stepped to the side to let him out. "We found plans to destroy Konoha. We can't just arrest all of them, the outnumber us."

"Naruto, you're just burning their building, what do you plan to do with the actual leaders themselves?" I snapped, watching him as he opened some drawers, double-checking something, rather than looking for something.

"They're all in here. Sasuke and I rounded them up." He stopped searching then stared at me with wide eyes, realizing something. "Where's Kakashi?"

"He went looking for Sasuke. We had to split up to find you." I said, as our eyes met. At first, I didn't understand the fear that shown in his blue eyes, then slowly, it sank in. "He's going to find the people locked up..."

"Sasuke went to secure the other entrances, so I don't know how you two got in. If Kakashi lets them out, they'll find the entrances still open and escape." Naruto said, growling and banging his fist against the desk.

"Alright, here," I said, thinking quickly, "I'll go lock the way Kakashi and I came in, and find him before he let's them out. You go and secure the last entrance, and we'll find out way out, got it?"

Quickly, he nodded, and we both ran off. I hastily retraced my steps, barely catching the signs on the doors as they blurred by. Turning a corner, the door came into sight. I locked it, then ran off in the direction Kakashi had gone only minutes earlier. Then came the hard part, figuring out where he had gone. I couldn't afford to be lazy and I had a lot of halls to check. This was going to take too long. From what it sounded like, Sasuke had only given Naruto a time limit to get out of the building, rather than have Naruto send a signal. I was working with a time limit, and I didn't know how long it was.

Racing down the halls, I only slowed to try the doors. Half of them opened - all of those empty. The other half, all locked. Any one of them could have held the prisoners, but I didn't have time for them. About halfway in the building, one of the doors creaked as I ran by, breaking the eerie silence and sending a chill down my spine. I halted, mid-stride then peered into the open door, squinting into the poorly lit room. There was nothing that I could see, but it still sent chills down my spine.

Ready to get back to Kakashi, and away from that room as soon as possible, I turned away, but not soon enough. A thick and rough hand gripped my wrists, and another grabbed my face, covering my mouth. Desperately, I struggled and screamed, but my attempts were muffled and useless.

"Less to me carefully women." The gruff voice hissed as I fought against him. "We know what your friends plan to do. You're going to get their attention, and let them know we have you here. Otherwise, you're going to die a fiery death just like us, and you don't want that do you."

Eyes wide, I stopped screaming, and instead cursed myself. How foolish of me! I had let them catch me! And now because of my damsel-in-distress-status, Sasuke and Naruto's plans would either fail, or it would work, but not for me.


	15. Chapter 14

My instinct told me to scream, and scream as loud as I could. That was always the first lesson in self defense - and of course, me being the all-I-can-really-do-is-defend-crap-ninja - scream as loud as you can. However, that wouldn't work in my case. That's what they wanted. We were trapped, doomed to a fiery death. The only possible way out was if Sasuke knew that something was wrong. That 'wrong' would be me stuck in here. If I let out any indication that I was in here, Sasuke would have to stop, and let me out, probably releasing my captors in the process.

I cursed myself for being tricked so easily, again, and allowing someone to capture me. I was going to screw up Naruto and Sasuke's plan.

"Listen to me carefully." The man holding my tight in his grip said with a voice that sent chills down my spine. "Unless you want to burn to death, you're going to let your friends know you're in here."

I shook my head as I bit down on my lip, terrified to even make a peep. Makes sense, right? You're about to die, but you can avoid that by screaming, and normally when you are being held against your will, you scream. So, what the hell was wrong with me? I mean, I'm doing the opposite of everything I've ever been told. So, why'd I do it? Probably the pessimistic side of me that thought my life had little value, or maybe the part of me that didn't want to screw up Naruto's and Sasuke's plan. I don't want to be the one to mess things up.

"Never." I hissed, barely loud enough for my captor to hear. It takes him a second to register what I said, but when he does, he's furious.

"We'll see. Just you wait." And I will wait, but I won't be the one to squeal.

Then, to my surprise, my headband was pulled down over my eyes, and tied securely behind my head. Now my heart is pounding away in my chest, and my lungs are begging for me to scream, as loud and as long as I can.

What did they have in mind for me? Torture? [Probably.] But why the headband? [So you can't see who's torturing you, duhh.] And again, I'm talking to myself. Shut up Toki! [Make me.]

Blindly, I'm pushed away to god knows where. And I'm terrified. Yet I refuse to scream. Soon, the smell of smoke crawls up my nostrils and I know Sasuke has done its job. Now it's just a matter of time until I burn. Despite this obvious fate, all I can worry about is if Kakashi made it out okay. I always did value other lives above my own.

"What's this? A captive?" A new voice, raspy and not nearly as terrifying as my captor's, but it still sends chills down my spine. Maybe the fact that I know I will die with these men is scaring the crap out of me.

"Yeah. Damn leaf bitch." The first one says, shoving me in the back.

"Well what the hell do we do with her?" Another new voice. How many people will die here? Me and at least three others. At least.

"Get her to scream. If they know she's here, they'll have to let her out, and then we can get out as well."

"Make her scream, huh?" Yet again, a new voice. All men. Now I'm terrified, and not for my life. There's a lust in his voice, as if he's not about to die.

"We don't have time for that!" Someone's sticking up for me? No, not really, more like sticking up for themselves.

A groan comes from behind me, and I realize the exact man who is lusting for me is only inches away. I'm too afraid to speak, but I do stumble forward, trying to get away from him. However, that was a futile attempt. Strong hands grabbed my wrists, and I they were bound together by a thick rope.

"Tie her ankles too."

"Please... No..." I whimper, feeling completely helpless. Where did my confidence go? Any strength I had left? Gone. That outer core of mine was washed away, and now I was the old me. No, I wasn't even the 'me' I had become. I was the cowardly little girl that I didn't even remember. I think only Kakashi can remember this girl at her full potential. Toki, please, I need help. But she was gone. I was alone in myself.

"Now she talks." The sarcasm dripped off his voice as rope strapped my ankles together, and cut into my flesh. I gasped at the force of it and the pain that surged through my ankles.

"Tighten her wrists too." Oh god, no! They were going to torture me! Then the rope at my wrists tightened too, and another gasp escaped. This time though, smoke entered my lungs. The fire was getting closer, and the smoke was swirling around us.

I coughed painfully as my throat tightened, then brought my knees up to my chest and hid my face in my knees, hoping to get some fresh air. Or less smoky air.

The men around me coughed and swore. Four of them. I was outnumbered four to one. And I was losing. I hope they all burn in hell after they burn here.

"This isn't working! Get her to scream, now!"

Pushing with my feet, I scooted back on the ground, trying to get away from them, but I ended up at the feet of another.

"How's that working for you?" He hissed mockingly, wrenching me up by my shoulders. I gasped out, but refused to scream. If I could just keep this up for a few minutes, maybe, just maybe, I'd achieve.

My body shook in fear as his grimy hands tightened around my upper arms to the point where his fingernails dug into my skin. Desperately, I bit my lower lip, trying not to scream. I only succeeded in bringing myself more pain, tasting the blood that now flowed from my lip. Was I trying to help them?!

"God damn this stubborn bitch." Now, a blow to my stomach. Hard.

This time, the air was knocked completely out of me, and all I could do was gasp for air. Again, more smoke filled my lungs.

"Go burn in hell." I hissed, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Only the guy holding me heard my remark, and in exchange his grip grew tighter and he shook me violently. Now tears welled at my eyes - of course, only to be absorbed by the black cloth of my headband - from the pain and my breath came in raspy sobs.

"This isn't working."

"Don't you think I noticed?"

"You shithead! Getting us a useless captive! We might as well kill her." Please, just kill me.

"I got a better idea." The sound of footsteps thundered off, and my heart dropped even lower then it already was. The room was getting hotter and hotter, the smoke was getting closer, and I could hear the fire blazing somewhere not too far off. Where did he plan to go and not get burned?

Soon he returned, and a gasp of awe came from his companions. This did not sound good.

"Ever seen a cow branded little girl?" Branded? Branded! Oh shit! Now I knew what they planned to do.

"Stay away from me!" I yelled, struggling against the man's grip, but he held my strong and firm. I was doomed. I always did want a tattoo, but not this way.

"There we go, now we're getting her to scream." Shit, I just gave them what they wanted. Immediately, I bit my lip again, bringing the blood back into my mouth.

"Won't be too hard to brand you, there's so much fire here. And lucky us, we found a bar." He pressed the warm bar against my bare arm, which made me jump. It wasn't hot enough to leave a mark, but just knowing that he wasn't bluffing was scaring the crap out of me.

"Please, no! Please! I'll do whatever you want!" I sobbed. I had caved in, and failed. I'm sorry Naruto. I'm sorry Sasuke. I ruined it. I messed up the plan. I always was the weakest link.

"Good girl. Now, you're going to tell your friends you're here, alright?" I nodded slowly, my whole body shaking.

"Good. Good. Where are your friends?"

"The one b-burning the b-building is at the back d-door. The o-others are... are at the f-f-front." I felt like I was stuttering or drunk, but I knew I was sobbing, only because the cloth of my headband was wet against my eyes.

"C'mon, go to the front!" He barked the command at the others, and soon I was being dragged along at a slow pace. My legs shook and I was having trouble walking. I failed. I failed.

"Alright, now call your friend."

I didn't for a little while as I was pressed up to the door. "N-Naruto..." I cried out, my voice shaking.

"Nikki!?" He called back, the surprise thick in his voice. "What's going on? I thought you were with Sasuke and Kakashi!"

"P-please Naruto..." I cried.

"Tell him to let you out." My captors demanded.

"Hang on; I'm going to let you out!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto! No!" I screamed. "Don't!"

"Bitch!" Another blow to my stomach, and I was exhausted of breath. My throat was so tight, my lungs were screaming insanely, begging for air. Light-headedness overwhelmed me, and I struggled for breath before calling out to my teammate again.

"Don't Naruto, whatever you do." I gasped for breath again. "The ones you locked up in here. They have me. If you let me out, you let them out." I sobbed, slumping against the door.

"I don't care!" Naruto snapped. The door knob jiggled beside me, and I could almost see the triumphant smile that would be on my captors' faces - although faceless they were to me.

"Naruto! NO!" I shouted, pushing against the door. It opened inwards, so as long as I kept my weight against it, he couldn't open the door.

"Get her out of the way, now! And somebody deal with the pest on the other end." I was picked up, and I could hear footsteps beneath me.

"You're the only one gonna burn now." He laughed. As he ran, the heat increased around us, and I felt completely helpless. Soon enough, I was thrown into a room, and the last sound was the door slamming closed, a lock clicking, and footsteps growing more distant by the second.


	16. Chapter 15

I had failed. Again! How many times could I screw up in one day? I cursed myself, but loud enough that anybody - if there was even anybody left in the burning building - could hear. I had to abruptly stop my cursing as I fit of coughs overtook me. Not that this was unusual for me, but this time was worse. It was different then the normal attacks that pulled me down. As usual, I couldn't help the cough. There was also the difficulty breathing and how tight my lungs felt, but this time, I felt something rising up in my throat. Probably the smoke I had inhaled. Thinking of that, a shiver ran down my spine and shook me right to the core, and brought back a horrible memory that I had stored away for so long.

I didn't want to think about it, and kept shoving it aside, but it burned in my mind due to this feeling of deja vu. Not again, please not again. And as much as I pushed it away, I still saw the little girl, huddled in the back of her room, sobbing insanely as the fire kept her in the room, threatening to burn her alive like it had to her siblings, who were still in that room. I shivered, and felt new tears form then be absorbed immediately by the headband that still blinded me.

"Damnit, damnit, damnit." I hissed, my voice breaking from time to time. I hated this feeling, being trapped and helpless like this. But then again what was there I could do? I groaned in frustration and desperately struggled against the ropes against my wrist, which resulted in an aggravating rope burn. I swore for about the millionth time, and then sighed. This was friggin hopeless! I'll just sit around and either be burned alive (like my sister), or suffocated by the smoke (like my brother). Great... That's a thought I needed in my head.

Pushing that wonderful thought aside, another idea took its place. "Oh... duhh..." I said, mentally face-palming myself. "Ok, here goes." Yes, I like talking to myself, the air, and nobody in particular.

Carefully - and very slowly- I attempted the hand symbols I needed behind my back, barely managing to get them correct, but soon enough that familiar feeling tugged down by my feet. "Yes!" I nearly cried out, but was forced into another coughing fit from the intake of too much smoke. I struggled to keep hold of my shadow as I sat coughing insanely, until eventually it subsided, and I could concentrate on my shadow again. That was difficult already because the air was now thick with smoke, and every breath burned my throat and lungs.

To avoid getting any more smoke in my lungs, I kept to mostly blowing out with my nose, and kept my head to the side, buried in my shoulder. There was also the problem of figuring out how my shadow could help me when I basically had no hands. Lucky me, right? Well, I guess this was my fault.

[Just let me do it.] _No, I'll handle this! _Having another person in my head to yell at was a pain in the ass.

Taking a deep breath I concentrated all my energy into my shadow, praying my idea would work. I'd never done anything like this before, so there was the risk I'd mess up and possibly strangle myself. I bit my lower lip nervously as my shadow inched up my body as if it was solid object - a living, human hand. The feeling of the shadow slipping down my wrists towards the knot scared the daylights out of me. Was this what it was like for those that died at the mercy of our shadows? My uncle had taught me this move - sort of - so obviously ninjas had died at the hands of a shadow. The thought sent shivers down my spine.

The rope fell away from my wrists and I had free reign again. It had worked. I was ready to cry out with joy. Quickly, I moved my headband back to my forehead and untied my ankles. Now I was free. Without even glancing around, I ran for the door, to find it locked. Again, I cursed myself. I took a step back then kicked the door as hard as I could. A smile crept across my face as the door fell with a thud.

Now to find out what happened to Naruto.

Racing through the burning building, I held my hand over my face trying to keep the smoke out. Already my lungs were burning, and a coughing fit was threatening to take me. _Concentrate, concentrate! You have to make sure Naruto is okay! _I told myself as I ran about. The fire blazed furiously, giving the place an orange haze all around. The ceiling wasn't even visible through the thick black smoke that seemed to get lower and lower with every heartbeat. Soon the building became unfamiliar, a hazy memory, now replaced with this strange new building that was tainted orange and black. My head grew light, and everything spun. I had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over.

Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I concentrated on one image; a smiling tem 7. All of. Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, Éclair and I. That was a happier time that I longed for. As the image raced through my head, I opened my eyes again and ran for the door, hanging onto the memory like a lifeline.

My hand trembled at the doorknob and everything was spinning again. I gripped the door knob, and pulled the door away. Smoke billowed out of the building and into the open, now tainted, air. I collapsed onto the soft grass, on all four and felt a raspy cough rise in my chest. Not able to hold it in any longer, I coughed long and hard, watching as the gray smoke escaped my lips. It disgusted me so much, I hurled afterwards.

"N-Naruto!" I yelled, my voice raspy, as I ran my hand across my lips, wiping away any remains of the vomit mixed in with the black smoke. Where was my teammate? Pulling myself up on shaky legs, I looked for any sign of him, Sasuke or Kakashi, but there was none.

I walked through the empty town, leaning against walls and buildings as I went. "Hello?" I called out weakly, desperately searching for my teammates.

"Naruto!" No response. After a moment, I tried again.

"Kakashi!" Still, nothing. I made one last desperate attempt.

"Sasuke!" It was useless. They were gone, and I was alone. Where had they gone to though? Surely somebody hadn't kidnapped them, no they were too strong to be kidnapped so easily.

Feeling another cough rising in my chest, I stopped and slid down to the floor, my back against an abandoned house. The coughing erupted from my chest, up my lungs, then out my mouth, burning my throat as it crashed through. My throat stung and breathing proved difficult, not to mention the taste of ashes lingered in my mouth. In between coughs, I spat out the disgusting ashes. Again, the need to vomit overwhelmed me as I watched the black ashes flow from my lips. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried taking a deep breath, but stopped as pain surged through my lungs and I started coughing again.

"There she is!" At first, my heart seemed to stop with fear, assuming the voice belonged to none other then the wrenched men who had left me in the burning building, but when I turned my head, relief flooded over me instead. Running towards me where Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke, all safe and unharmed.

"You guys are all right." I croaked with a sigh of relief. I was terrified something had happened to them, especially Naruto after he let out all the bad guys. But even Naruto came running to me completely unscratched. I guess I continue to underestimate him.

Kakashi knelt down next to me and held my hair back as another coughing fit erupted. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then smiled weakly at my silver-haired friend. He didn't smile back, and instead stared at me with worry drawn across his face. When I looked up, Sasuke and Naruto had the same worried expressions.

"Geez guys, thanks for worrying, but I'm alright." I said, smiling at them. They seemed to lighten up enough.

"What happened? We went to the building and you were gone." Naruto said.

With a sigh, I told them; "Okay, they just locked me up in a room. I just got out," I said, shrugging my shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal.

"How'd you get out?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Why, my shadow of course." I couldn't help and giggle at how silly that sounded. Kakashi was about to ask another question, but I quickly interrupted him. "So, what happened to the bad guys?"

"Uhhh...." Naruto said, looking over at Kakashi, who glanced at Sasuke, who turned away annoyed. Then they were silent. Idiots! They completely forgot! I sighed, only slightly annoyed. Were they so busy about damsel-in-distress-me, that the thought of the bad guys just blew right over them?

"You let them escape... Didn't you?" I asked as my gaze swept over all three of them.

"Of course not!"

"Uhh... well, we had to come find you."

"Idiots..."

I sighed. Of course they wouldn't admit it. Well, Kakashi sort of did... And of course Sasuke had to blame the others; nothing was _ever _his fault. Rolling my eyes, I wished Éclair was here too. Maybe she would have reminded them about the bad guys. Or, maybe not. Either way, at least having another girl around would have made this a lot easier.

"Alright, let's just find them." I said, rising to my feet - with a little help from Kakashi, who held my arm the whole time. The boys nodded, and we jumped off in the direction of the burning building. Kakashi summoned Pakkun, who immediately went after the sent. Dogs are so helpful! We followed him down the path; all three Sharingan eyes scanning every little nook and cranny as we went.

"The scent splits here." Pakkun said as he sniffed the ground and circled around. "They split up."

"I guess we should split up as well." Kakashi said. Agreeing to this, I quickly bit my thumb - ignoring the sharp sting that accompanied it - and summoned my own hound as well. Through the cloud of smoke, Sakumo looked up at me and wagged his tail. I scratched his ears as I spoke;

"Alright, I guess the best thing to do is Kakashi and Naruto go one way, and Sasuke and I will go the other." As much as I wanted to go with Kakashi, that was unfair, because Sasuke and Naruto had no way to summon the dogs if they needed to, and we needed a use of the Sharingan, so - sadly - this was the only way it was fair.

"Alright, come on sensei!" Naruto called as Sasuke came by my side.

"One minute." Kakashi called. Quickly he came over to me, kissed my forehead and told me to stay safe. When I reassured him we would, he and Naruto ran off in one direction, and Sasuke and I set off after Sakumo.


	17. Chapter 16

We raced through the dark trees in utter silence. The breeze brought about the smell of smoke that stung my nostrils and tightened my throat. All I could do was keep my head low and try to avoid the tainted air, but there wasn't enough fresh air to last much longer. However, the further away from the town - and the burning building - we got, the clearer the air became. It was a relief and a curse at the same time.

We ran with Sakumo in the lead, his black nose up in the air constantly. Sasuke had his ruby-red Sharingan active and locked dead-set ahead, paying no heed to the trees that rushed past us in a blur which would give a normal person motion sickness. He never glanced my way once, despite the way my gaze lingered occasionally on him, then to Sakumo, and then scanned the area.

"There's a group up ahead." My wolf said in his husky voice, shooting a quick glance over his shoulder at us. We picked up our paces, the thrill of the chase finally catching up to us. A strange adrenaline rush rose in my chest and I found myself longing to catch our prey by surprise and giving them a taste of their own medicine. Knowing Sasuke and my own cruel streak however, I knew there was no way we were going to let our enemies off that easily.

I couldn't help but notice the gleam in Sasuke's eyes that probably reflected my own. We both wanted a good fight, and to give these guys what they deserved. It sounds like revenge, and maybe that was the thought that was running through my head; revenge. Maybe I did want revenge, but for what? Was being locked in a burning building a good enough reason? Surely it had to be, but even if it wasn't, that didn't stop the longing desire that fueled me to run faster. Maybe I was - maybe I still am - fueled by revenge, but everybody thrives somehow, and this was what we longed for.

"I can see them," Sasuke said in his raspy voice. "There's only two," At this, he glanced at me and smirked. I smirked back. Two-on-two; this was going to be fun.

We stopped and hide in the trees as soon as even my normal eyes could see them. Sakumo left us to have our fun in a cloud of smoke, and we stared down at the unsuspecting enemy. As ironic as this might sound, naive us, became the unsuspecting enemy. Without a sound or warning, we were pummeled to the ground.

Eyes wide, I looked around frantically only to find that we were alone. Our pursuers had vanished. I was still searching when a pale, muscular hand was extended towards me. Looking up, I stared into Sasuke's coal black eyes for a moment before I took his hand. He helped me to my feet without a word, and then we were both on the lookout again. After a very long, tense, while, we felt as if we were alone. I looked over in his direction, to see him staring a little too hard at something behind me.

"See something?" I asked, twisting at the waist to peer over my shoulder, but I did not see anything.

"I thought I did," He said cautiously as I turned back to him. His gaze flickered to me once, before he looked away again.

"Let's just go find Naruto and Kakashi," I said after one last sweep of the place. We met each other's gaze, and he nodded. I was about ready to turn when his eyes widened and he yelled out my name in alarm.

A sharp pain flashed through my head, taking the breath from me. The world spun and before I knew it, I was on the floor. I was somewhat aware of his voice calling out to me, and the clash of metal on metal, but by that point, everything was black.

"Sasuke..." I managed to utter before I completely slipped away.

When I awoke, the first thing I heard sent my utter fluttering open in confusion.

"Hey! I think she's waking up!" It was Aiko's voice.

Looking up, I was surprised to see her icy blue eyes staring, warmly down at me. She leaned back and smiled at me. I sat up groggily, feeling like I'd had one too many drinks (maybe I was young, but I'd had a few drinks before, so I knew what hang overs felt like). I blinked and shook my head then took a deep breath, feeling ready to pass out again.

"Careful. You two got beat pretty good." Aiko said, biting her lower lip.

"Sasuke!" I gasped. "Is he alright? Where is he?" I asked, suddenly terrified something had happened while I was out cold.

"He's alive." Aiko said bitterly, twisting away to reveal Sasuke and Éclair behind her. He had a few cuts and bruises, and he looked exhausted, but other words he was fine. Éclair was busy wrapping some bandages around a wound on his arm, when she turned towards me. She smiled and waved, then hastily finished wrapping his wound - obviously wishing she wasn't the one stuck with that job. She got up and walked over to me. While she did so, I noticed Sasuke look up at me, and he gave me a shy smile. I smiled back at him.

"You're alive!" Éclair said as she stood over me. I cocked my head back to look at her, and covered my eyes from the blinding light known as the sun. Such a nuisance it was.

"Barely," I croaked, rubbing the back of my head - which was throbbing insanely. "What happened?"

"They knocked you out. Sasuke here's lucky we found you guys or you both probably would be dead by now." She said matter-of-factly with a shrug. Oh yeah, us dying was no big deal, I mean we weren't her teammates - err, previously her teammates in Sasuke's case.

"Thanks." I said quietly as my hand dropped to my lap. "So, how'd you guys find us?"

Sasuke got up and walked over to our little group, carefully avoiding a very unpleased Aiko, and sat down beside me. It felt so weird being with him again but it was a good weird. I realized one thing then and there; I thought I had missed him before, but now sitting next to him, I found that I had truly missed him. I was so glad to have him back, even if just for a little while.

"Well, you guys didn't come back, so we had to come find you. We split when we found out you guys had split up as well. Raidon and Lycan went after Kakashi and Naruto; of course, if we had realized you were with Sasuke, I probably would have gone with Lycan." Aiko said with a smirk aimed at Sasuke. He just rolled his eyes. Éclair pretended not to notice, and I couldn't help and giggle.

"Hey, be nice you two." I laughed.

"Tell her that." Sasuke said with his typical poutiness.

Aiko just rolled her eyes, not ready to give up. Those two were going to fight for the rest of their lives for all any of us knew. But as long as they didn't kill each other, I guess it was alright. They were sort of like Naruto and I. Well, maybe not.

"So, does that mean you guys got rid of the dudes that totally kicked our asses?" I asked.

"Yeah, kinda." Éclair said with a smile. Wow, I don't think I'd ever seen her so optimistically cocky. I guess they were both just harassing poor Sasuke. I think it was working too, because he was looking more then slightly annoyed.

"Anywho!" I said, hoping to save him a little misery. "Maybe we should find the rest of the gang, don't yah think?" I asked.

Luckily, my adopted sisters nodded, and rose to their feet. Sasuke smiled and mouthed a quick 'thank you' to me, and me alone. I smiled back and then we helped each other up. His hands were fairly cold, but his touch was somehow warm, and I immediately felt guilty. I guess I still wasn't done crushing on him, even though I was dating - and in love with - Kakashi. And even though I really shouldn't have even thought about it, I couldn't help and wonder if Sasuke felt the same.

As we searched for the rest of our companions, I couldn't help and glance over at Sasuke from time to time, comparing him to Sai. Sakura had always said she saw a similarity between the two, but what did she know? She always had her head in some medical book. But thinking about it, and seeing his face again, I couldn't help and compare them. They were, sort of similar, but Sai pissed me off so I would never compare them out loud. Even though Sasuke left us, he was still a lot cooler and much higher up there on my scale then Sai would ever be. He just could never compare. Not to mention, I was too stubborn to admit that Sai was an amazing artist - as an artist myself, I was somewhat jealous he could use his art for his fighting style.

I guess I had started staring at Sasuke as I was thinking, because suddenly I realized he was staring back at me with a confused face. Embarrassed, I looked down at the ground.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Uhh..." I mumbled, looking back up at him. "Guess I was just thinking." I shrugged.

He stared back at me with one eyebrow arched above his coal black eye. "About what?"

"The asshole that took your place."

"Somebody took my place?" He asked with sincere shock. It was then that I realized he did miss being on the team, and never once thought we would fill his spot. Not that I - or Naruto for that had as well - wanted to replace him, it was thrust upon us; and by it, I mean Sai.

"Sorta. He'll never replace you though. He's a pain in the ass. Naruto and I hate his guts." I said with a sigh.

"Wait, you and Naruto agree on something?" He asked with a teasing smile.

"Yup! We agree that we hate Sai's guts and really, really want you to come home and show him that you're a hella lot cooler." I said with a grin.

"Yeah, you should have seen the way she punched him when he bad-mouthed you Sasuke!" Éclair said with a laugh as she stared back at us. "I hate him too, but man, Nikki and Naruto just want to stab him sometimes."

"Can't you guys respect him!? He's an amazing artist!" Aiko hissed, frowning at us.

"No!" I snapped back. "You try going on a mission with that cocky homo, and you'll see." I retorted.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Aiko turned away from us and faced forward again. Éclair did the same, but not out of annoyance.

"You stood up for me?" Sasuke asked, a playfully smirk across his lips.

"Well duh." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, somebody's gotta support that big-egoed-superiority-complex-traitor when he's not around. Naruto and I take turns." I smirked and watched him frown, clearly not amused by my childish name calling.

"You know I'm just kidding." I said when he didn't respond for awhile.

He just rolled his eyes to tell me he heard. I couldn't help and snort at his typical pouty attitude. We continued on in silence then. It wasn't awkward, but I was getting fidgety; to my amazement, there was so much I wanted to talk to him about. It made sense though, I mean, I hadn't gotten to actually sit down and have a conversation with him in almost four years! I was allowed to catch up on old times right? Paranoid? Maybe just a little. I couldn't help it. Could it be possible to love two boys at once? Or was this just that old crush that decided to spring back up again?

An unexpected groan escaped from my lips and erupted in the air. I looked down at the ground before anybody was given the chance to ask what had just happened. That was definitely not a conversation I wanted to have.

From there, nothing too exciting happened. When we finally found the rest of the group, Sasuke hung back, not wanting too much interaction with anybody else. Not to mention Lycan, Aiko and Éclair would probably gang up on him, knowing them; although I think Kakashi, Naruto, Raidon and I outnumbered them, they would still try. I knew he wanted to leave as soon as possible, but I wouldn't let him. I forced him to stay while I ran off, grabbed Rae, and brought her over. At first, I was sure he would kill me, but the second the tears started rolling down Raidon's cheeks as she hugged him, I knew he wouldn't. In fact, I thought he was ready to cry himself.

I sat around in a some-what awkwardly way as they hugged and talked, catching up on the years they had missed. After awhile, I got bored, and joined in myself. That lasted until Sasuke decided it was time to go, and that was much too soon for Rae and I. We tried pulling him along, bribing him, we even threatened him, but eventually he got away, and was gone. We walked back to the others very disappointed. And sad. Very sad.

And just like that, life went back to the way it had been; without Sasuke. He walked in, and walked out of our lives, again. But I know this won't be the last time I see him. He'll walk in again, and when he does, we'll force him to stay in our lives. He's not going to leave again next time. One thing I do know is that even if the village brings him back in, or I have to do it myself, I will. Even if I have to alone. I won't be for long though, because he will be with me then. And hell, I probably won't be alone in bringing him back; Raidon, Kakashi and Naruto all want him back, and I'm willingly to bet I know a few people who would consider giving him a second try. What ever happens, I know I'm never alone, and I want to spread that to him. I don't want Sasuke, myself, or anybody I care about for that matter, to ever be alone.

_The End!!!!!!_


End file.
